The Twins of Rome
by Sinisterclown13
Summary: Jason, Thalia, and Percy Grace are all children of Julia Grace, lover of Zeus/Jupiter. The twins, Jason and Percy, have to be separated from Thalia due to their Roman heritage. When the boys arrive at Camp Jupiter, they don't know that in a couple years' time, they will both be thrust into two wars and two prophecies. Poll is over: Percy/Reyna. Jason/Piper
1. The Children

**A/N: Possibly the start of a new story! I have writer's block for Champion of the Sun, so I will be writing this for a while to clear my head. Thanks for reading, enjoy! NOTE: Their ages are different that in Rick Riordan's book, but don't get all pissy. Also, leave reviews for Percy's pairing, but I'm pretty sure it's going to be Reyna. Hehe Percy and Jason have trouble with their R's . . . **

**Chapter One: The Children**

_Unknown_

The famous actress looked down upon her three children in joy as they ran around the living room, tumbling over one another with bright smiles and joyous laughs. Her oldest, Thalia, was playing with the other two—twin brothers—holding them both in headlocks. Thalia had just turned five and her brothers were now four.

The actress, Julia Grace, watched her twins—Jason and Percy—helplessly struggle in their older sister's grasp, but laughing mirthfully all the while. Julia watched with eyes filled with care and love, only wishing their father could see them now.

That's when Julia's mood swung.

Her eyes began to water slightly at the remembrance of Zeus—Jupiter, for the twins—and she felt a massive hole in her heart. Julia loved him—she knew she shouldn't, but she did anyway. She loved his intoxicating smell of ozone, a smelt he kids now carry with them, only to painfully remind Julia of her lover, and his gentle hands holding her. But Zeus/Jupiter had left her behind. She knew it was going to happen, but she clung to false hope, trying to convince herself that he loved her and would never leave her.

She was wrong. So, so terribly wrong.

Zeus left right after the twins' birth, not even giving Julia a proper goodbye. She resented him for it, but she also loved him, therefore making it virtually impossible for her to hate him completely. She needed Zeus, and he left her behind.

All alone.

"Mommy? Why aw you cwying?"Percy asked kindly, walking up to the couch where she was seated. Thalia had let go of Jason, staring warily at Julia. Thalia knew what happened whenever she cried.

Julia glared at her son, her mood changing from love to sadness to fury. However, that's how alcoholics are: unpredictable.

Julia became infuriated as she stared at her son, studying his electric blue eyes and black hair like Thalia's. His eyes—oh, his _eyes_—Julia could find herself completely immersed and lost in the vast expanse, the same color as the sky. Same color as Zeus's eyes. And for that, she hated him.

Julia roughly kicked Percy to the floor and onto his back.  
"YOU LOOK SO MUCH LIKE HIM!" She screamed as tears began to rapidly fall down her cheeks, "YOU REMIND ME SO MUCH OF HIM! HE LEFT ME! HE LEFT _ME_!"

Thalia rushed forward and wrapped her arms around her baby brother, pulling him away from Julia. Ms. Grace wasn't done—oh no, she wasn't even _close_ to being done.

Julia rushed into the kitchen, kicking aside stray beer cans as she passed through the living room. She reached into the fridge, pulling out a six-pack of Miller Lite. She was thoroughly sobbing now; she quickly returned to the couch, popping the cap off a bottle and taking a large swig. She coughed and sobbed at the same time, causing some of the beer to drip out of her mouth and spill onto her lap.

She laughed maniacally before reached forward and putting a hand gently on a trembling Percy's cheek.

"You look so much like him," she cooed softly, with a strange glint in her eye, "you have his eyes."

Percy raised a trembling hand to his mother's arm. "M-Mommy?"

"CURSE YOU, ZEUS!" She screamed, slapping Percy and shoving Thalia away in the process, "YOU LEFT ME! YOU FUCKING LEFT M-ME! HE LOOKS SO MUCH LIKE YOU!"  
Julia began chugging the beer, slowly rocking back and forth. "He loved me, children. He loved me so much . . ."

It was a lie.

-X-

The kids had finally gone to bed, leaving their mother passed out on the couch with five empty bottles on the floor and one half-full on in their mother's loose grip. The house was silent until a small pop and a flash of light. Standing in his trademark pinstripe suit was Zeus himself, gazing around the house in shock. Noticing the empty beer bottles, he wondered if Julia had drunk all of this alcohol. Finally, he turned around, only to intake breath sharply.

He walked over to his lover's unconscious form, feeling insurmountable guilt gnaw at his insides. He had heard her curses, and assumed that she was just angry. He had no idea she would do . . . this. Zeus's electric blue eyes never left her face as he shook her awake gently.

"Go the hell to bed, Percy, Mommy is fine, dammit," she slurred harshly, her breath smelling terribly of alcohol.

Zeus's eyes widened. She used that kind of language with her kids? What had happened to the kind and innocent actress known as Julia Grace?

"It's not Percy, honey," Zeus replied softly, channeling his inner kindness.

Her eyes snapped open, seemingly more alert. They were still glazed over and unfocused, but they widened as they locked with Zeus's.

"Z-Zeus?" She stammered, partly from intoxication, and partly from shock.

Zeus nodded, almost timidly. She raised her hands to his face, dropping the beer bottle onto his foot without even noticing.

"You've come back? For me?" She asked hopefully, her eyes filling with tears of joy.

Zeus felt guilt eat at his insides once more. "N-No, Julia. It's the children . . . they can't be together anymore."

Julia's mood darkened. "YOU HEARTLESS BASTARD! HOW DARE YOU COME HERE AND DICTATE HOW MY CHILDREN INTERACT? GET OUT! OUT!"  
Zeus shied away, either not noticing or not caring that Percy and Thalia were listening from the staircase, unseen. Zeus had come here to tell her that his Roman children needed to be separated from Thalia. It was dangerous for Greeks and Romans to mix, even if they were siblings. Zeus hated doing this to his own children, but it was necessary.

"Julia, you need to—" Zeus began.

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP! I HATE YOU! I LOVED YOU, AND YOU _LEFT_ ME! YOU RUINED ME! LEAVE!" She bellowed, the putrid smell of alcohol wafting out of her mouth.

As soon as she was done with her furious outburst, she collapsed onto his feet, sobbing violently. Zeus hesitantly bent down and awkwardly hugged her, hoping she would listen long enough to be convinced.

"Julia, you have to take them to the Wolf House tomorrow," Zeus explained.

Julia just nodded.

Fortunately for Zeus, Thalia and Percy retreated to their rooms when their mother began screaming, so they heard nothing about being separated. Come the morrow, Thalia would believe Jason and Percy to be dead.

-X-

_Percy_

Percy woke up on the floor. His back felt like he had slept on wood—wait, he did. Percy pushed himself into a sitting position, realizing that he had, in fact, slept on wooden boards. He was lying in what seemed to be the foyer of a dilapidated mansion; the tapestry and paint had peeled off the walls, while cobwebs had successfully conquered most corners of the house. Sunlight shone through holes in the ceiling and walls, allowing the cool and crisp morning air to waft through the apertures.

Percy frowned, not exactly remembering how he got there. Then, his heart leapt into his throat as he remembered his siblings: Thalia and Jason. Where were they? Were they okay? Was he near them?

Half of his answer was answered as he heard a quiet snore behind him. Percy whirled around in fright, instinctively jumping into some sort of defensive stance that he didn't know he knew. Percy lowered his arms and smiled as he found his twin sleeping soundly on the floor, his mouth open and drool dripping out.

Percy woke his brother by jumping on him, driving his elbow into Jason's stomach.

"Ouch!" Jason screamed, shoving Percy off him angrily, but with the corners of his mouth twitching upwards.

Percy sat up again before growing serious again. "Jason whewe (where) awe we?"

Jason looked around and looked upset before his eyes began to water. "Thawia?" He asked hopefully.

"Thawia!" Percy screamed, hoping that she was just in a different room, and that she would race in and give him a warm hug, calling him Thunder Butt to make him laugh. Percy frantically looked for his big sister—his idol. Jason had collapsed onto his butt, crying forlornly.

Warm and salty tears began to fall down his face as he plopped down next to his brother. They hugged each other, Percy becoming extremely thankful that he had a twin. They sat like that for a couple moments before they heard a soft growl. The brothers became silent immediately, straining their ears to see if another growl would sound.

When they heard a second one, Percy and Jason both turned their attention to the front door, where a giant brown wolf stood, resting on its haunches.

"I am a _she_, Perseus, not an _it_," the wolf reprimanded.

Percy stared at the wolf in astonishment, utterly surprised and terrified that it—she—could talk and read his mind. How had she known his name?

If wolves could smile, this one definitely did. "I am Lupa, mother of Rome. You two are here to be tested."

Jason, being the more civilized brother (Percy liked to be sarcastic and rebellious) asked politely—and shakily—why they were here.

Lupa gave a wolfish grin and padded towards the boys slowly. "You two are true Romans: two that will help New Rome rise to the power it once had. You two will achieve the unachievable, sons of Jupiter."

Percy furrowed his eyebrows, tear tracks still present on his cheeks like footsteps in snow.

"Womans (Romans)? Sons of Jupiter?"

Lupa nodded her wolf head. "Jupiter, Roman god of the sky, and king of the gods, is your father. You are a demigod, the offspring of both mortal and immortal."

Jason spoke up unsurely. "D-Do you know our daddy?"

For a moment, Lupa's yellow eyes filled with pity and solemnity. Although, it was gone as fast as it came, being replaced by a steely gaze.

"Yes, young ones, I do. I will be training you until you are ready to make the journey to your sanctuary. Are you ready to begin?" She asked.

"Wait," Percy exclaimed. Seeing Lupa's attentive face, he continued, "whewe (where) is our sister Thawia? Is she hewe (here)?"

Lupa was silent for a moment. "I'm sorry. Your sister is dead."

-X-

_Percy_

Percy sprinted as fast as he could, Lupa's words echoing in his words all the while.

"_Go west to and your home. Your brother will follow shortly. Beware, young one, you will have to make difficult choices_," Lupa had warned.

Percy was currently in a forest heading west, according to the compass Lupa gave him. Percy was only four, but he was extremely mature for his age. He knew what the word _dead _meant. It meant Thalia wasn't coming back. His mother was an unstable, drunken bitch (not that he knew that, of course) and wouldn't console him a bit if he ever went home (he knew that, though), so this was his only option. Percy believed Lupa when she explained what being a demigod was; he had occasions when people screamed that he shocked them during school, but that was only when he got angry.

Percy and his brother had been training for a month before Lupa allowed them to try to reach New Rome. She made it clear that she and her pack wouldn't assist them, so Percy knew he would die if he messed up.

Percy was dashing in a halcyon, autumn colored forest that seemed to be untouched by industry or civilization, but not by monsters. Percy heard roars and cries that would make a regular four year old wet his or her pants, but Percy managed to contain his frightened bladder. Sunlight peeked through the orifices of the leaf canopy above him, letting the warmth of the rays beat on his shirtless back.

Yes, Percy was being forced to run with no shirt on in _California_. His skin was blood red and peeling, much like the tapestries in the Wolf House—the manor he awoke in nearly a month prior. Percy felt some sort of mental . . . compass; it was like some divine force was pulling him in a certain direction, aiding him on his journey to find the place called Camp Jupiter. Lupa mentioned something about a tunnel, but he had no idea where he could find a tunnel in a forest. Maybe he hadn't gone far enough? Maybe he just—

An arrow struck the tree next to him, sending bark flying into the air. Percy, without even looking back, bolted further into the forest, his feet slapping against the forest floor roughly. Percy was small and agile, making it easy for his lithe body to navigate through the dense underbrush. For every root Percy jumped over and every branch he ducked under, his pursuer fell further and further behind him.

Percy somehow knew that this was his test of speed and dexterity. Percy poured all his energy into his legs, his skinny but muscled body working its hardest to get him away from his assailant. He ducked under a branch, hopped over a small creek, sidestepped a boulder, and suddenly exited the forest to see that he had come to a nearly deserted highway. He skipped quickly across the road, the asphalt burning his bare feet like searing hot coals.

Percy risked a glance behind him to see a tall figure with a bow in hand, stopping at the other side of the highway.

He passed his first test.

-X-

_Jason_

Jason hated the sun. Its rays baked his body like a pie in an oven, but Jason doubted he would taste as good as cherry pie after he had been cooked. Jason was shirtless by request of Lupa, saying that he should be able to survive with his body, and not rely on acquired materials. Nonetheless, Jason's back and shoulders _hurt_.

Jason had left after Percy (Lupa said the oldest twin was to go first), but Lupa told him his challenges would be in a different order than his. So here Jason was, walking through a forest, headed in the same direction his brother had gone in. As he walked, he couldn't get his mind off of his sister Thalia. She had always been around for the twins when their mother had not, making Thalia not only a sister and best friend figure, but also a motherly figure. Jason missed her deeply like a child would miss a lost blanket; he just didn't feel secure without his black-haired sister. Granted, being with Percy always made him feel safe, but no one could replace his sister.

His thoughts strayed to Percy. His fraternal twin was obnoxious, rebellious and sarcastic at only the age of four; Jason loved it. They were the perfect pair; Jason was polite and dutiful, while Percy was uncontrollable and keen to banter. They seemed like almost complete opposites, but Jason couldn't imagine being separated from his twin.

Jason's eyes soaked in the autumn colors: yellow, orange, and all shades of brown. The woods were so majestic that they were nearly ethereal; Jason had already decided that he had been sucked into Narnia when he wasn't looking and found this crazy, good-looking forest.

The growls and roars ruined the whole picture, however. The cries and screams were filled with lust and hunger, like the beasts that made them hadn't been fed in a millennium. Jason didn't want to break their streak of not devouring demigods, so he hurried his pace a little, eager to catch up to his black-haired brother.

Jason had been travelling for a couple hours, drinking water from streams and munching on various snacks that Lupa had put in a small bag that hung at his belt. He was about to take another bite of his granola bar, when he heard the noise. A massive hound burst from the bushes next to him, causing him to scream and fall onto his back. The hound had beady red eyes that seemed to pulsate an aura of cruelty and malice, and sleek, black fur that rose and fell with each heavy breath the beast took.

Jason backed up by pulling his body with his hands, and was surprised to see two weapons lying on the ground. The beast hadn't moved and inch, but its evil, red orbs followed every movement of his.

On his left was a golden sword that had sparks jumping all over it, and on his right was a sleek, grey bow and a quiver of arrows; each arrowhead seemed to pulse with blue electricity, like it needed to discharge some of the energy.

_Only pick one_, Lupa's soft yet stern voice vibrate through his head.

Jason had no trouble making his choice.

Jason was still nervous and, frankly, terrified. He shakily raised the sword, feeling the electricity course through his body, energizing him. It was like he had just drunk six cans of Coke; the electricity was his caffeine. Jason took an anxious step backwards as the hound padded forward.

Then, in one idiosyncratic moment, all sounds in the forest ceased, making Jason feel like he was in some random room, alone with a hellhound. He recalled all of Lupa's training, shifting his feet into a proper athletic stance and postioning his upper body in a defensive stance, ready to parry an attack. Despite his copious amount of knowledge on swordsmanship, thanks to Lupa, he was almost becoming asphyxiated from the thick tension and anxiety that hung in the air like a chandelier would dangle over a dining room table. His breathing became erratic, turning into a slight form of hyperventilation.

The hellhound lunged.

Jason swung instinctively, the blade slashing across the hound's snout, knocking it off course. It careened as it tried to get up again, accidently slamming into a boulder. Jason took that as an opportunity to charge his hand full of electricity, and fling a destructive lightning bolt. It slammed into the hellhound's flank, sending it flying into the forest. Jason watched as it broke through one . . . two . . . three trees before stopping. The weak and thin trees fell, one landing on the hellhound's broken form, sending him straight to Tartarus.

Jason looked at the blade before trying something. He didn't know why he thought to do what he did; he just acted on an impulse. He flipped the blade, and it morphed into a tiny gold coin. He lifted it up to read the Latin word on the side.

_Ivlivs_.

Julius.

_Strange name_, Jason thought as he moved the coin around in his fingers. He slipped the coin into his pocket and turned around to see that the bow was no longer there. Jason frowned for a moment, before turning back to the direction he was heading originally.

Jason continued on, determined to find his brother and Camp Jupiter before sunset.

**A/N: Soooo? How was it? I have a great plan for this story! My writing has really increased since my first couple of stories (which are now deleted), and it makes me feel great! I feel like I am capable of writing a good story, so tell me if you want me to continue this story, because I can definitely do it. Thanks for reading! I'll have the next chapter up soon, hopefully!**


	2. The Tests

**A/N: I hope you liked the first chapter! I've written most of the next chapter for Champion of the Sun, so it should be up soon. I hope you guys like this story so far! I like the plot! Well, you don't know what it is yet, but I like it. Thanks for reading, enjoy!**

**Chapter Two: The Tests**

_Percy_

Percy hopped over a fallen log joyously and elegantly, like a hunter, still feeling the adrenaline from the fight that had ended just moments ago. He held a golden coin in his hand, with one word carved into it.

_Avgvstvs_.

Augustus.

Just because he loved doing it so much, Percy flipped the coin up in the air, and it morphed into a sleek, metal, and grey bow. Arrows had appeared on his back in a matching grey quiver; the arrowheads on the exquisite wooden projectiles pulsed with electricity, just begging Percy to fire one. Percy recalled the dramatic burn and shock that massive hellhound got when his first arrow pierced its neck. Percy was in awe of the bow's power; it was tough to pull back for a four year old, but he was strong enough to fire an arrow correctly, thanks to Lupa's training.

Percy was still in the autumn-colored, otherworldly forest he had been in hours earlier, although he was well past the highway. The small mental compass kept dragging him westward. Percy wasn't suspicious of the strange feeling; Lupa was probably the cause of it. Percy assumed she was assisting him and his brother by telling them the general direction of the camp, so he decided to follow it, despite the probable risks, such as being attacked by a monster, and . . . well, actually, that was the only risk. Percy wasn't afraid of anything _mortal_ anymore due to the horrors he learned about in the month he and Jason spent with Lupa.

His mind strayed to Jason. What was he doing? Had he passed his tests too? Percy shook the thoughts of his twin out of his mind. He needed to focus. He knew he wasn't done with the tests. Lupa warned him he would face many obstacles, and the two he had already faced were definitely not the end of the line for him. Percy had a lot farther to go until he found Camp Jupiter; he was sure of it.

His bare feet padded the grassy forest floor, the bottoms of his feet scraped and blistered due to the sticks and acorns he had stepped on during his speed test. His shoulders and back burned painfully, but not nearly as intense as earlier that afternoon. The sun was beginning to set, taking mercy on poor Percy's sunburnt skin, allowing one side of his body to take a satisfyingly cool break while the other continued to bear the pain of the sun's harsh rays.

Percy's hair was infested with twigs and leaves, also courtesy of the speed test, but despite all his aching and his body's griminess, his eyes shown with triumph and mirth. He was going to do it. Percy's mind was set on the one task: making it to Camp Jupiter. He was as adamant in his belief in making it to Camp Jupiter as a dog was at catching its own tail. Although, despite the previous analogy, Percy _knew_ he would actually make it to the camp, unlike the dogs that would, unfortunately, never catch their own tails.

Percy was brought out of his thoughts by the smell of smoke. It was a roasting smell, like the aroma Percy used to get a whiff of when his neighbor used to grill hamburgers in his backyard. Percy frowned. First of all, where was the smoke coming from? Second of all, why would someone be grilling food in the middle of nowhere? Unless . . . Percy's heart leapt up into his throat, causing his ears to pound along with the sped-up beat of his heart. Were the _monsters_ cooking something? Or _someone_?

Percy's blood seemed to freeze and a horrible feeling arose in his stomach. He continued walking quickly, hoping to escape the smoky smell of the burning fire, but found he was getting closer to the source instead of fleeing from it. He was about to turn and run the other direction, but he then heard Lupa's commanding voice in his head.

_Do not run, Perseus Grace. That is the mark of a coward: a weakling. Are you weak? _She asked in his head.

Percy replied quietly and aloud. "No, Madame Lupa, I am not weak, nor am I a coward."

His training with Lupa seemed to have instilled three pillars inside of Percy's consciousness: Honor, Valor, and Mercy. Children were supposed to obtain their morals through their parents, but his mother wasn't exactly the role model he always wanted. Thalia was more along the lines of the person he wanted to be like when he was older, despite her young age, but Thalia was gone now. All he had now was Jason, who was in the same boat he was, and Lupa; she would be the one to instill morals in him.

Lupa taught him that Romans were supposed to be honorable in every since of the word; only silver-tongued, conniving senators and politicians spoke with a keen sense of duplicity—which, fortunately, didn't include Percy. Percy had learned it wasn't honorable to attack from behind when an opponent wasn't expecting it, to lie intentionally for personal gain, to steal, to cheat in any way, shape, or form, et cetera. Percy now had an extreme case of honor, one that wasn't cured as easily as the common cold. Lupa told him that no one would be able to convince him to become a traitor, because that was dishonorable.

Valor was another trait that Percy had acquired form Lupa. As Lupa had just mentioned merely moments before, fleeing from battle or deserting the army was the mark of a coward—a weakling: one who wasn't worthy of being considered Roman. Percy now knew to never flee (unless it was a retreat, of course, he wasn't an idiot who would stay and fight knowing he would lose, unless it was for some noble cause) due to Lupa. Now, Percy could be as brave as Horatius Cocles was when he defended the Pons Sublicius from the impending army of Clusium. Horatius bravely defended a narrow bridge without any others, and ultimately sacrificed himself to break the bridge, drowning a majority of the army, as well as destroying the only passage the army of Clusium had over the river. Percy felt that he had enough courage to make a sacrifice like that for the good of Rome and its people without a moment's hesitation.

Lupa had also warned Percy that the Romans don't tolerate weakness. What she told him next was so close to weakness that it straddled the line between noble and cowardly: mercy. Percy wasn't a cruel boy, even after being thrust into the mythological world at age four. Percy didn't know if he could even bring himself to kill another human being, so he didn't think he had much to worry about when it came to mercy. Nonetheless, Lupa had taught him to never take a life unless it was absolutely necessary. Percy already believed that, so Lupa didn't have to try too hard with that one.

Percy moved closer to the location from which the smell had originated, and came to a small glade. The clearing was infested with waist-high grasses, making Percy feel like he was looking at a petite wheat field. Towards the middle of the overgrown dell, an enormous—well, he was enormous compared to Percy—man was throwing logs and sticks of all sizes into a roaring inferno, each one making the flames rise a bit higher.

The man was a gruesome sight, reminding him of a zombie movie that he and his siblings weren't supposed to see—they secretly watched it anyway, of course. The man, if one could even call him that, was rotten and decaying, flies swarming around him like moths would swarm a beacon of light during a murky night. The skin was a pale buttery hue, and the veins a deathly onyx shade. The dirty and dead-looking man was a stark contrast to the ethereal forest that Percy was in: black and white, dead and alive. The forest teemed with life—that, Percy knew—but it also held the monsters of the pit: creations from hell whose only purpose was to steal the lives of demigods, and drag them to the underworld.

The man chuckled precipitously, fetching Percy from his surprisingly descriptive thoughts. The laugh, if you could even call it that, sounded like a patient with tuberculosis; it sounded more like a vehement cough than anything else. It reiterated in the forestry a couple times, making it seem a lot more histrionic than it should have. Percy nearly retched when the man gyrated towards him, showing his greasy and hairy abdomen, covered in grunge and blood. His teeth were yellow and rotting like his skin, his eyes—Percy's train of thought came to an abrupt pause.

He had only _one_ eye.

Percy's breath hitched in his thought as he realized what it was: a Cyclops. He had one, huge, brown, bloodshot eye in the middle of his gross, meaty forehead, moving all the skin on his face as it turned to gaze terrifyingly at other objects in the small, overgrown glade.

The Cyclops laughed again, his lubricious chest shaking up and down.

"You make good meal, demigod," He said loudly, as if he was broadcasting his thoughts to the entire forest.

Percy somehow found the willpower turn his gaze to where the Cyclops was looking. Tied to a stake was . . . oh gods . . . tied to the stake was his brother—Jason Grace.

-X-

_Jason _

Jason didn't necessarily believe in luck—or at least good luck. Jason had a valid reason too; look at his life! Jason's mother was an alcoholic, abusive woman who was basically out of her mind because Jupiter left her (Lupa explained everything about his father) and his sister was now dead, according to Lupa, so all he had now was Percy. And since Percy wasn't with him, he was forced to carry all of his burdens by himself. It sucked.

But, coming back to luck, Jason's mind might have changed after he escaped the archer without so much as a scratch. Well, the concrete burned his bare feet like Hades, but that didn't count to him. All that mattered was that he was alive, and he hadn't seen his twin's body yet. Jason put a large magnitude of trust into his belief that they would reach the camp alive, because that gave him a confidence boost, and he really needed one of those at that time.

He was becoming tired; the travelling and skirmish with the hellhound and the archer had drained him, leaving him feeling like he could sleep for the next couple millennia. But Jason somehow knew that if he stopped his journey, he wouldn't make.

Jason was walking through that same ethereal forest (apparently someone had a great idea to build a highway down the middle of it) when the smell of smoke began wafting into his nostrils. Jason's gaze rose to the sky, and was not too stupefied to see numerous tendrils of white smoke billowing into the sky, all originating from what seemed to be the same area.

_Ugh, pollution_, Jason thought.

Jason stopped walking and frowned. Where had that thought come from? Jason contemplated it, not seeing any real sense of urgency to reach the source of the smoke; it was probably just someone camping. Jason wondered when he had ever cared about pollution beforehand? Maybe he was worried about the forest, and—

Jason's train of thought came to an abrupt stop. It wasn't the _forest_ he cared about.

It was the _sky_.

Jason mentally slapped himself for his idiocy. Of course he would be concerned about the sky; it was his father's domain! Technically, it was part his and his brother's too. Jason felt a terrible feeling rise up in his chest as he watched the smoke drift further and further up into the ozone. The smoke was like poison: slowly killing the sky. Jason realized with a horrible feeling, that the sky was undergoing a process much like the human life.

When it began, it was young, clean, and healthy. Now, it was middle-aged, the actions of man only slightly wizening the great expanse. And soon enough, the sky will be an old man: crippled by the pollution of mankind, ruining the youthful glow it had towards the commencement.

Jason, again, frowned. When had he gotten wise? He was four!

Jason continued to the smoke, having to push through seemingly endless bulwarks of ferns, weeds, and bushes. Once he passed through the nature checkpoint, he saw that he had come to a small glade, filled with tall grass that really needed to be cut down a couple feet. Jason heard a happy bumbling, a noise someone would make if they were having an absolutely perfect day. Jason squinted his electric-blue eyes and looked around the clearing, attempting to locate the origin of the joyous humming.

It didn't take him long.

Jason held his stomach and felt bile rising in his throat as his eyes soaked in the horrendous sight before him; Jason turned away and put his other hand over his mouth, hoping he wouldn't accidently make any noise. He glanced back **(A/N: I'm not going to bother re-capping what the Cyclops looks like in great detail again)** at the . . . entity. He rotated around, showing his front side to Jason.

Jason almost lost his granola bar right there.

The Cyclops, he could identify him as one due to the fact that he had only one, massive eyeball, had slimy hair covering his entire abdomen, covering most of his yellowed skin and stygian veins that were as dark as the night sky. He terrified Jason, slightly reminding him of an old horror movie he had watched years ago with his siblings, but he couldn't recall the name, only that the Cyclops standing in front of him undeniably belonged in it.

Jason noticed a massive club hanging at his hip, loosely held to his belt by a strap of leather. It was dented and unpleasant looking, seemingly made of woods.

The Cyclops lumbered over to the roaring inferno, tossing firewood into the stack. He chuckled—although it sounded like a garbage disposal grinding up food—and walked back over to a stake. Jason's jaw dropped and his blood froze.

Tied the stake was his brother—Percy Grace. **(A/N: Confused yet?)**

-X-

_Unknown_

A young girl—four, to be exact—had her eyes closed, calmly feeling the boat rock her body side to side like her father used to when she was younger. She could imagine her father's firm but gentle grip he used to pick her up with, and could picture the bright, white smile he would have on his face as she squealed with happiness.

As she buried her face further into her older sister's lap, she could almost smell her father's old cologne; it pacified her, making her feel as if she was back in her father's arms once more.

Her sister shifted slightly, bringing the dark-haired girl from her thoughts. She picked up her head sleepily and hugged her older sister, burying her face deep into her neck as if she could escape all the pain and memories by doing so. Her sister wrapped her longer arms around the dark-haired girl, rubbing her back soothingly.

The faint sea breeze wafted to the two girls as they sat quietly, the engine of the small boat the only noise other than the waves softly breaking against the hull. The dark-haired girl felt tears prick at her eyes; she was already missing her home. She wanted her father to hug and kiss her one more time, but she knew that wouldn't happen anymore. She may have only been four, but she knew what it meant when her sister told her that their father had died. He wasn't coming back. He couldn't comfort her anymore.

As she slowly drifted off into the realm of Morpheus, she heard her sister muttered some soothing words into her ear.

"Don't worry, baby sis. I'll keep you safe. I promise, Rey."

**A/N: So? I bet you guys are so confused about the Percy and Jason parts. Don't worry; it will all be explained next chapter. Hope you guys liked the first look at Reyna! I'll switch to her POV every once and a while. This first section was about her leaving Puerto Rico and eventually ending up at Circe's island. Thanks for reading! Review!**


	3. Patronage

**A/N: Chapter 3! Thanks for reading everyone! Remember to leave reviews, and please go check out **_**Champion of the Sun**_**, my other story. Thanks, Enjoy! Btw, this Percy won't be the stupid, blunt person like the real one. He'll be slightly OOC. After his tests and years of service in the legion, he'll be reserved and hardened. I think it makes him more badass. Jason will most likely end up like he was in HoO, but he might be different. I haven't really decided. Also, Percy and Jason's speech was corrected by Lupa. That's why they don't mess up their R's anymore.**

**On a side note, should Percy be paired with Hylla or Reyna? It could go either way.**

**And someone asked about a melee weapon, and although I love Riptide, I feel that his usage of a sword is overrated. In this story, Percy will be still be skilled with a sword, but will prefer to use a spear or javelin, just for something different and not so overused.**

**Chapter 3: Patronage**

_Percy_

Percy didn't know what to do. All the training he had received from Lupa seemed to fly straight out the window, gone like water down a drain. His mind went blank and his body froze, making him seem like he was a sunburnt, barefoot, and bare-chested ice sculpture. Percy, almost robotically, reached into his pocket until his thin fingers felt the coldness of the gold coin. His fingers stroked the metal, itching to flip it and fire a couple arrows into the Cyclops's greasy chest and save his twin.

But his training prevailed.

Percy did pull out the coin, but he didn't flip it. He knew it wasn't the right time. Lupa taught him to never rush into a battle; she said it was wise to observe the situation before rushing in, so Percy did just that. His sapphire eyes scanned Jason first. He was bloody and bruised; the most prominent wound was a basketball sized blue spot on Jason's ribcage. Percy knew just from looking at it that it must have been painful.

Percy concluded that Jason was indeed unconscious; he wasn't moving. Jason wasn't one to roll over when someone wanted something from him. Percy recalled all the times that Thalia had put him into a headlock; Jason always thrashed and struggled, and never stayed still or admitted defeat. So, judging by his lack of movement, he was out cold.

This _scared_ Percy. He didn't know if he was ready for something like this. Sure, he trained with dummies and against Jason, but there wasn't an immense aggregate of pressure on his shoulders to come out victorious. Percy grinned despite the situation. He figured it out once more; it was a test. Lupa was probably watching to see if he cracked under the pressure, or worked flawlessly and liberated his brother. Lupa was guileful.

Percy flipped Augustus, and expected to be holding a bow, but instead, he was holding a spear—a Hasta—that crackled with electricity. Percy stared open-mouthed at the weapon, completely and utterly confused. Where was the bow?

Then, the more observant and logical part of his brain wondered which side the coin landed on in his hand. Percy decided that it wasn't the right time to hesitate, so he pushed the weapon "malfunction" into the back of his brain, now focusing his adept mind on finding an adequate route of attack.

The Cyclops began to untie Jason, confusing Percy greatly. Where could he possibly be . . . Percy stopped his thought. While Percy was admiring his weapon, the Cyclops, who was immune to the flames, had set up a stake in the middle of the now raging inferno.

Jason was going to be cooked.

-X-

_Reyna_

"Reyna?"

Reyna snuggled deeper into her warm pillow, squeezing her eyes close in defiance, repeating a small phrase over and over in her mind.

_It was all a dream . . . daddy will come get me soon . . . It was all a dream . . . daddy will come get me soon . . ._

"Reyna!" The voice asked more forcefully.

Her eyeshot open as she felt her warm headrest move, and her groggy brain absent-mindedly pegged it as her older sister, Hylla. Reyna turned to her sister, her obsidian eyes meeting orbs that were almost identical to her own.

Reyna was a small girl, even for a four year old's standard, had obsidian eyes as dark as volcanic rocks, and hair that seemed to perfectly match her eyes' color. Her dark locks fell to her shoulder blades, but she wanted to grow it longer like her sister's because she believed anything that Hylla did was perfect. But then again, don't all little kids look up their older siblings?

"Hmm?" Reyna replied sleepily, giving a cute yawn afterwards.

Hylla smiled and hugged Reyna against her. Hylla was only six, but she seemed to know what she was doing (or at least she seemed to according to Reyna).

"We are almost there," Hylla responded with a smile dancing on her lips, nearly drowning out the sadness that was _supposed_ to be hidden in the depth of her eyes. Hylla tried to hide the pain of her father's death by sweeping it under the rug, trying to completely forget it happened. Reyna could tell her sister was sad; she could see the pain and solidarity swirling around in Hylla's eyes like a tornado of emotions.

Reyna's eyes pricked with tears; the fact that she was going somewhere meant it wasn't a dream—it was reality. Reyna felt her sister hug her tighter as the warm tears began cascading down her cheeks.

But the tears weren't only draining the sadness out of Reyna. They were draining her blissful, childhood innocence.

It was that day that the cold, insurmountable, internal walls slowly began to rise around the daughter of Bellona's heart.

She wanted to make sure she never felt this way again. And how could she do it?

Cut herself off from _everything_, and _everyone_.

-X-

_Percy_

Before Percy could comprehend his own actions, he charged from the brush in which he hid, mindlessly advancing through the glade and toward the hideous beast that _dared_ to touch his twin. Percy felt the electricity arc through the air, down from the now obscure, darkened sky, and strike the tip of his spear before shooting out in a single bolt that hit the Cyclops's ribcage, sending thousands of volts of energy through him. Percy assumed the lightning wouldn't hurt his brother—due to his heritage, of course—and his postulation played out as the Cyclops was blown across the clearing, dropping Jason harmlessly into the tall grass where Percy couldn't see him.

That's when Percy got the idea.

"WHO DARES INTERUPT MY DINNER? I WILL EAT YOU TOO, INTRUDER!" The beast bellowed, its skin smoking as if he had sat in an electric chair.

Percy smiled at Jason's hidden, unconscious body; Jason had given him an idea while incapacitated. Percy silently thanked his brother as he crouched down, completely disappearing from view. Luckily for him, the Cyclops was as sluggish as a snail, and it took him an eternity to rise; he hadn't seen Percy yet, so the son of Jupiter still had the element of surprise even after he already assaulted the beast once.

Percy stalked the monster under the cover of the underbrush; the short stalks of grass tickling his nose, making him want to sneeze. Fortunately for him, he managed to hold it in.

"I smell you, you Roman scum!" The Cyclops yelled.

Percy didn't know what pissed him off more: the fact that the Cyclops had Jason captive, or the fact that he just insulted his faction. Granted, Percy hadn't met another Roman besides Jason, but something told Percy that no Roman soldiers would take a blow to their honor like that lying down.

Percy stood and charged, catching the unbalanced Cyclops off guard. Percy thrust his spear into the monster's thigh, eliciting a scream of pain. The Cyclops grabbed a club from his belt and swung sluggishly—but powerfully. Percy ducked just in time, feeling his hair shift from the powerful gust of wind in the wake of the Cyclops's attempted attack.

Percy stepped back agilely as the Cyclops tried to kick him, and swung the blunt part of the spear towards the Cyclops's exposed stomach. The Cyclops lashed out with his free hand, striking Percy's right eye at the same time the butt of the javelin connected with Cyclops's side.

The fingernails on the Cyclops's hands were so sharp that the attack left behind a bloody wound that stretched from his eyebrow down to his cheek, thankfully missing his eyeball. Percy cried out in pain and wiped the blood from his eye as he turned, surprised that the Cyclops hadn't finished him in his moment of feebleness. Percy's breath hitched in his throat as he saw that the Cyclops had gotten Jason in a headlock, a rusty dagger pressed up against his vulnerable neck.

The Cyclops grinned cruelly, showing Percy his dilapidated and yellowed teeth.

"Choose, little demigod," the Cyclops ordered, "one of you will die. Either I will kill your brother, or you. Your choice."

Percy was at crossroads. Him or Jason. Him or Jason. Him or Jason. Percy's grip tightened on his spear until his knuckles were white from the amount of pressure he was forcing on the sleek, grey spear. Percy's mouth became as dry and withered as the Sahara desert, his mind whirling like gears in a machine, attempting to find an alternate way out of the situation.

Then it hit him.

Percy flipped the spear so the tip was facing downwards. He glared menacingly at the monster that was holding his brother.

"Let me tell you something, Cyclops," Percy said hatefully, "that is my twin you're holding. Do you want to know something about twins? They are a package deal. We either live together, or die together. Nothing in between. Sorry."

The Cyclops opened his mouth to reply, but Percy didn't give him a chance to. Percy reared back and hurled the spear through the air, desperately willing it towards the Cyclops. Lighting arced from the sky and hit the javelin mid-flight, charging it to the brim with energy.

Time seemed to slow and all the noise of the ethereal forest ceased to be, as it all the animals, insects, and plants were spectating the entire event with an uncharacteristic interest. Percy could hear his heart thump in his ears, and felt all his senses sharpen drastically, as if Jupiter himself had charged him with lightning. Percy could see the tensing muscles of the Cyclops as his eye widened towards the incoming projectile, and could see every slight direction change of the spear.

Percy then did something he didn't even realize he could do. The wind bent to his will, guiding the spear to its target. Then in one climatic moment, the spear pierced Cyclops's head, going all the way through before bursting out the back of his head. Some sort of green goo splattered the bark of a tree behind the Cyclops, while Jason fell to the ground, still unconscious and oblivious to all that was happening.

The spear—even though it was a good five feet long—pierced the wood of the tree behind the Cyclops, pinning the dead body of the monster to the timber. Percy stood stagnant, his sapphire eyes fixed on the now deceased fiend. The resonances of the forestry slowly resumed around him, the wind beginning to flow habitually once more.

Percy didn't know how long he remained there—it could have been thirty seconds, or it could have been an hour—but he finally ambled towards his brother. As he stretched to touch his twin's arm, Jason's body glowed and drifted up into the air.

Startled, Percy fell backwards onto his butt and scooted back quickly. Jason's body slowly morphed into one of a picturesque lady, with vivid purple eyes and long, plaited dark hair. Her figure was slender, and she was dressed in white robes that seemed to catch the suns rays and reflect them right into Percy's eyes as if to blind him, only adding to the celestial event unfolding in front of him. The woman slowly floated down until her feet touched the ground, her amethyst-purple eyes connecting with his sapphire ones.

"W-Who . . . wh-what," Percy stammered, trying to comprehend what was occurring.

The woman smiled and giggled a little, obviously amused by his astonishment and perplexity.

"I'm not your brother," she stated.

Percy was silent for a moment before saying the first thought that came to his mind—one that was not particularly intelligent.

"My brother isn't a girl."

She laughed again. "I'm sure he's not. Have you figured out who I am yet, Perseus?"

Percy flinched slightly at his full name—something his . . . mother . . . only called him when she was drunk. Percy knew that this lady was divine, but he didn't know who in Pluto's name she was.

"A g-goddess," Percy stated nervously. Lupa had taught him and Jason that few gods and goddesses were forgiving of mistakes or rude behavior, which often resulted in small grease spots where disrespectful demigods once stood.

The lady smiled, showing her bright, white teeth. "Do not be afraid of me, young one, I am not like the rest of my family. My name is Trivia, the goddess of sorcery, witchcraft, and crossroads."

Percy scrambled onto his knee, bowing to the goddess before him.

Trivia waved her hand dismissively. "Do not bow to me, Perseus."

Percy nodded before standing up again, waiting for the goddess to say something. Trivia slowly walked around him, seeming to inspect him. She flicked her hand, putting out the enraging inferno, making the Cyclops disappear, and causing Augustus reappear in his hand in coin form. She slowly walked back to the spot she was originally before stopping.

"This test was existent for the sole purpose of discovering how deep your selflessness ran. Unsurprisingly, it seems to be endless. That was mighty brave of you, Perseus. Most would have run away to save their own life. Lupa told me that you and your brother were special, but I didn't believe it. Until now, or course. You are, in fact, mighty special, Perseus," Trivia stated.

Percy blushed from embarrassment. "Thank you, milady."

Trivia smiled warmly for a moment and turned her eyes back to his own, her lavender eyes shining in excitement and anticipation.

"May I ask you something, Perseus?" Trivia asked kindly, and a little timidly.

"Yes, milady," Percy replied respectfully.

"Would you allow me to bless you? I . . . I don't have children because they are usually scorned and shunned. I would very much appreciate it if I could become your patron. I can't officially adopt you because I doubt Jupiter would like it very much, but I could—"

Percy cut Trivia off by nearly tackling her in a hug. He tightened his grip on Trivia, already imagining her as the mother figure he never had, and always wanted.

-X-

_Hylla_

"Reyna, wake up, kiddo," Hylla commanded, "we're here."

Her sister had fallen asleep crying, and Hylla let her sleep because she didn't doubt that their father's death had been harder on Reyna that it had been on Hylla. Reyna was their father's "little girl," obviously his favorite.

What Reyna didn't know was that while their father was shot up on drugs, Hylla was begging on the streets for money and food. Someone had to feed the family, and their father wasn't doing anything, whether he was kind to them or not.

Their father, a man named Hernando Ramirez, was involved with a drug cartel in Puerto Rico, and was shot to death nearly two days ago now. Hylla managed to find some "special" people who were going to visit an island.

Yes, Hylla knew that she and her sister were demigods. She somehow met a couple of girls on the street who were also demigods, and planned on going to some island in the sea that was owned by Circe, some mythological sorcerer. Hylla hoped that she would take them in because she had nowhere else to go. As long as Reyna was content, Hylla could be cheerful.

Reyna lifted her head sleepily. "Where?"

"Circe's island," Hylla replied, forcing a smile for Reyna's sake, "our new home."

Reyna's already onyx eyes seemed to darken at the word _home_. She relaxed back into Hylla's warm body.

"Carry me?" Reyna asked quietly.

Hylla smiled into her little sister's hair. "Always."

-X-

_Jason_

Jason, mouth agape, looked at the dead body of the Cyclops, and back at the glowing woman.  
"B-But," Jason stuttered, "m-my brother—"

"Was never here," the stern goddess finished for him.

Jason's eyes scanned the woman—obviously a divine being—taking note of her black robes she wore, along with the goatskin over her shoulders. She had long, black hair that was pulled into a single ponytail. Her eyes were a stern and cold brown, her gaze seeming to pierce Jason's skin.

"I am Juno, demigod, the faithful wife of your adulterous father. He has selected you to be the one to appease me. I will be your patron, and I will guide you, son of Jupiter," Juno said.

Jason's knee hit the dirt. "Thank you for your help, Lady Juno."

If possible, Juno's eyes softened for a moment upon seeing the young boy in front of her. Jason's sapphire eyes connected with her now unstiffened, chocolate ones, making a connection that he never had with his drunken mother.

It was the start of something new.


	4. The Arrival

**A/N: I like the way this story is going and I have nearly everything planned out, so I will be alternating between this story and Champion of the Sun. Right now (obviously) I am working on the Twins or Rome. I am, however, writing a little bit for Champion of the sun as well. Thanks, Enjoy!**

**Remember the question about Hylla and Reyna. Which one should Percy fall in love with? I'm putting up a POLL so check it out!**

**Or maybe even BIANCA . . . I can probably make that work.**

**POLL RESULT SO FAR (As of when I post this chapter): **

**Bianca- 11**

**Reyna- 7**

**Hylla- 2**

**So Bianca is winning! It's still early in the story, so the Hylla and Reyna fans still have a chance (although I doubt Hylla will make some drastic comeback). Make sure to leave your vote in the poll!**

**Chapter Four: The Arrival**

_Trivia_

To say Trivia was surprised by Percy's selflessness was a massive understatement. Trivia watched as Percy—a four-year-old boy—stand up to a monster that would have caused a bad case of wet underwear for any other kid besides this certain son of Jupiter. Percy was juvenile, yet completely unafraid of the monster itself; he was only afraid of what it could _do_ to his brother (who actually wasn't there in the first place).

Trivia was enthralled by his loyalty and selflessness, utterly astonished when he gave his speech about package deals. Most demigods in that situation wouldn't even be able to converse or even _function_ correctly, but Trivia had seen this demigod in action with her own, lavender eyes.

On a side note, Percy's combat—although a brief manifestation—seemed to be more enhanced than average; the stab through the thigh genuinely hindered the monster's movement, part of the reason it didn't gut him after the Cyclops struck his eyeball. Granted, some magic, courtesy of Trivia, was involved so he didn't kill Percy, but the creature wouldn't have been able to kill the son of the sky even if he wanted to.

Then, through his emotional despair in a climatic moment, Percy unconsciously called the winds to his aid, causing subtle gusts of wind to gently propel and guide the sleek weapon to its mark, which, unfortunately for the Cyclops, was the monster's forehead.

All in all, Trivia had taken a partiality to the boy. She didn't know what came over her—most likely it was her despairing sense of solidarity—but she then suddenly asked Percy if it was okay to bless him.

It was true what Trivia had said: normally her children were spurned and eschewed, so she tried to refrain from having many kids. She had only a single kid at Camp Jupiter, a girl named Kira, and she was indeed disdained by the other campers. Trivia thought she was longing for too much, and was utterly bewildered by Percy's reaction.

Before she even totally finished what she was going to say, he threw his arms around her, hugging her tightly. Trivia shakily put her arms around his tiny body, a little timidly, believe it or not. Trivia had never embraced any of her children before. Technically, Percy wasn't her child, but the same concept applied to the situation in which she was currently engrossed.

"Yes," Percy mumbled in Trivia's stomach.

Trivia couldn't retain the beholden grin of her face.

-X-

_Jason _

"So, um, Lady Juno," Jason started, "what do I—"

"Head further west," Juno completed, "your brother is now an equal distance away. You will meet each other again soon. You both have passed your initiation. You will get your stripes and placed in the children training program."

Jason struggled to keep an aggravated expression off his face. Juno kept finishing his sentences for him, and it was slightly irritating to the son of Jupiter. But Jason's sapphire eyes seemed to glaze over at the thought of seeing his brother again, even if it had only been a couple hours since he had seen him last. Jason was fatigued and sunburnt, ready to be done with Lupa's "fabulous" set of tests.

Juno smiled, probably reading his thoughts. "Go on. Find Perseus."

Jason, for the first time since he left the Wolf House, grinned, and jogged off in the direction he was currently heading.

After about twenty or thirty minutes of running, Jason began to hear clanging metal in the distance. The smell of something, possibly barbeque, wafted through the air, replacing the normal nature smell Jason had become accustomed to over the past couple hours. He finally emerged from the scenic—yet lethal—forestry, and noticed he had come to another small highway. It was only two lanes in each direction, but seemingly deserted.

Jason scampered across the road, attempting to move rapidly enough so the flesh on the bottom of his feet didn't get scorched off. As soon as he crossed, he noticed he had come to a cave entrance. A golden, gratified plaque was nailed above the cave, spelling S.P.Q.R. in broad, black letters that were a stark contrast to the golden material on which they were imprinted. Under the letters was an engraved American eagle, the symbol of Jason's father Jupiter, as well as the symbol of Rome.

Fascinated by the sophisticated commemoration, Jason didn't notice the two heavily armed guards dressed in traditional Roman legionnaire armor until they were within five yards of him.

"Who are you, kid?" One inquired—a male.

Jason jumped backwards, startled by their sudden, quiet approach. His sapphire-colored gaze rose to the guard's face. He remembered everything that Lupa taught him, and adjusted his posture.

"Jason Grace, son of Jupiter," Jason introduced himself.

The guards were silent for a second before erupting into amused laughter. Jason frowned. Was it something he had said? Was his posture crooked? Had he forgotten something? Maybe he had—

"You're lying kid," the female guard stated, drawing him from his thoughts, "the Big Three swore an oath, you know. They haven't had any kids since WWII."

Jason looked at the two guards helplessly. "B-But—"

Jason then heard a noise behind him, causing him to turn back towards the highway behind him. Jason's wide grin threatened to split his face in half as he saw his brother nimbly jump over a log while emerging from the otherworldly forest. Jason frowned as he noticed the bow in Percy's hand. Percy sprinted a few steps towards them, totally out of breath.

Percy's sapphire eyes lit up at the sight of Jason, but he wheeled around and fired a frantic arrow into the forest, which was followed up by a ground-rattling boom and a flare of light back in the forest.

Percy crossed the road, sprinting towards the three.

"M . . . M . . . Minotaur," Percy panted, his hands on his knees as he gasped for oxygen.

"Tara!" The male guard said, "fetch some more soldiers! Alert Cassie and David of the new campers. I'll deal with the—"

The guard was cut off as a meaty, ten-foot tall bull burst out of the tree line, sending uprooted trees and clumps of debris flying onto the highway. His fur was matted, wet, and black in some places—Jason assumed it was from Percy's electric arrows—and his thickset hands were tightly gripping a massive battle-axe.

His beady, onyx eyes examined the cluster of demigods. Both sides were still except for Percy, who gently and vigilantly notched an arrow on the sleek, grey bow he held. The Minotaur eyed the group, as if he was trying to pick which demigod he wanted to gut with his axe first.

The Minotaur roared so loud that it parted Jason's hair as well as triggering the group's gag-reflex from the nauseating smell that was now permeating the region around tunnel entrance.

Then, it charged.

-X-

_Reyna_

"—and that's the island, everyone. Now all of you can follow me to meet Circe," the guide finished, walking away from the heavenly pool that was accompanied by a hot tub that seemed to be beckoning to Reyna.

Reyna's onyx eyes gazed greedily at the hot tub; she had never been in one before, but some of her wealthier friends in Puerto Rico had told her how great it felt. Hylla's hand gripped around Reyna's, pulling her softly behind Hylla.

The walked up to a massive, picturesque mansion that was made with a mixture of white marble and other kinds of materials that Reyna didn't recognize. The elegant palace had many floor to ceiling windows, letting in a massive allocation of natural light into mansion. It was influenced profoundly by modern styles, complete with the peculiar modern art that Reyna didn't exactly comprehend. Reyna was certain that if she got some paper and scissors, she could construct something akin to the handiworks that rested on pedestals throughout Circe's home.

The foyer had a small basin—about the size of a bathtub—in the middle of the room, much like the ancient homes in Italy. The interior matched the color scheme of the exterior by being furnished with white furniture—chairs, sofas, tables, et cetera—and more marble like the columns on the porch.

After a small tour, a gorgeous woman entered from a room the group hadn't seen yet. She was dressed in white—shocker—robes that seemed to have been manufactured for royalty, and wore threads of gold in her luscious, dark locks. A small, warm smile was on her face, but her piecing green eyes seemed to be sizing the visitors/recruits up. Her eyes stopped on Reyna, and then shifted to Hylla.

"It seems we have a lot of young ones," Circe commented.

The guide nodded. "Yes, milady. The youngest is four."  
Circe slowly approached the group and crouched in front of Reyna. Reyna shifted so she was halfway hidden behind Hylla's leg.

"Hello, dear," Circe greeted softly, "what's your name?"

Reyna mumbled her name incoherently.

Circe's eyebrows knit together. "Pardon? I didn't catch it, dear."

"Reyna," Hylla supplied, "her name is Reyna."  
Circe stood and shot a glance at Hylla. "And you are?"

"I'm Hylla, Reyna's older sister," Hylla responded.

Circe nodded, clearly satisfied with the answer she received. Reyna gripped her sister's leg tighter as Circe rose again, and introduced herself to the other visitors. After a brief meet and greet, Circe stood in front of the crowd once more.

"Welcome to C.C.'s Spa and Resort, everyone. My name is Circe, and I think we are going to have a wonderful time on my island together."

-X-

_Unknown_

Three elderly women sat quietly on a grey, tattered couch, all three pairs of eyes trained on an Iris message. Their hands operated with minds of their own, weaving, sewing, and snipping collaboratively.

The one in the middle smiled suddenly. "He will make a good hero, will he not?"

The one on the right glared. "_He_? You mean _they_, right? They will be inseparable, Lachesis. You cannot fate one to become powerful and not the other. You heard him say it himself: '_We are a package deal_.'"

Lachesis rolled her eyes. "It matters not. Odds are, they won't even live to the culmination of their fates. Saturn will crush them."

The one of the left, who had been silent up until that point, snorted. "I thought _I_ was fate of death, Lachesis. If I want them to perish during the war with Saturn, they will. Do not assume you have any influence over me whatsoever. I happen to like these boys so far. Maybe I'll be merciful and let them have a long life."

Lachesis sneered at her sister, but had no comeback to her works, for they were impenetrable. Whether she liked it or not, Atropos was correct; Lachesis nor Clotho could interfere or have any influence over death.

It was up to their sister Atropos to decide how far they went.

-X-

_Percy_

The son of Jupiter continued to walk in the direction Trivia had told him the camp was, kicking a pinecone contently. Hit thoughts strayed to his new patron—and new mother—Trivia.

When Percy hugged the goddess of sorcery, he half-expected to be obliterated on the spot. But, surprisingly enough, Trivia even hugged him back, which perplexed Percy more than anything else that had occurred that day. He remembered Lupa telling him that the gods and goddesses ordinarily thought demigods to be lesser beings, which caused Percy to wonder if Trivia would be offended if he hugged her.

Unfortunately for Percy, the intelligent side of his brain seemed to malfunction as he impulsively flung himself at Trivia, desiring the feeling of safety.

He got it.

To be completely honest, Percy couldn't explain the feeling he felt as he gave the bone-crushing hug to the goddess of sorcery; Percy couldn't portray it because he had never experienced it prior to that event.

He felt secure and protected, all his worries and problems going right down the drain. Percy never felt the same way with his mother, who was only sober for the first year he was alive. Once his mother broke out the six-pack, it was all downhill from there. Percy's mother never bothered to act lovingly towards her children, so Percy didn't exactly know what that felt like. Although, once he started hugging the life out of Trivia, he felt it: a family-like spark. Percy was instantaneously convinced that Trivia was going to be his new mother, even if she wasn't able to legitimately adopt him.

Anyways, long story short, Percy was satisfied with how the meeting with his new patron and mother went. Now, he was travelling through the forest again, still heading west. His fingers absentmindedly played with Augustus, while his sapphire eyes stayed trained in the direction he was heading.

He hadn't been walking long when the earth pulsed.

Percy paused mid-walk. The birds' chirping ceased and the wind's whistling diminished; everything seemed to become inaudible, as if everything was trying to help Percy's auditory capabilities.

A second tremor shook the ground.

Percy scanned the trees around him, but saw nothing out of the ordinary in the halcyon woodlands: not a single stone nor blade of grass was out of place.

A third, ground-shaking boom pulsated, knocking Percy completely off his feet. He scrambled back up and flipped Augustus with little to no hesitation, and was punctually holding his sleek, grey bow, an electric arrow already notched loosely, prepared to launch through the air at a moment's notice.

Then, all hell broke loose.

A massive shape came charging through the woods like a freight train, uprooting and snapping trees as if they were plastic straws from a fast food restaurant. It was a massive bull; it was meaty and hairy, and carried a gargantuan battle-axe that looked like it could easily slice a battleship in half. His beady red eyes were focused directly on Percy's sapphire orbs, like it was trying to glare him to death.

It was about fifty yards away and closing fast, so Percy fired an arrow in hopes of slowly its progress, and then immediately turned and started to run.

Percy heard the shock and small explosion created by the arrow, and heard the minotaur roar. Percy continued to sprint, his heart leaping into his throat as he began to hear the steadily approaching tremors.

The Minotaur was catching up.

Percy turned quickly, his palm sparking with energy, and hurled a bolt back at the massive creature, but missed and snapped a thin tree in half with a loud popping noise. Percy wheeled around and his bare feet slapped the ground in quick succession, trying to find the energy to continue running.

Percy was a demigod—a son of Jupiter, to be exact—but he wasn't invincible or extremely fit. The training from Lupa helped his endurance and strength, but Percy was still a four-year old. He wasn't a machine. After all the earlier trials—from the sneaky archer to the ugly Cyclops—Percy was exhausted, both mentally and physically. His arms and legs ached with muscle pains, while his back continued to resemble the peeling walls inside the Wolf House. His shoulders, biceps, and back were terribly sunburnt to the point where it hurt just to turn his neck. Through the whole day, he had only consumed two measly granola bars and an apple, so he was already weak from his deprivation of proper food. All in all, sheer willpower and fierce determination were the only two things driving Percy to continue.

Percy knew he wouldn't last against the Minotaur alone. He had two options: run, or hide. Percy didn't know where he could hide in the relatively flat forest; there weren't many boulders to hide behind or crevices to conceal him in, so that option was basically worthless. So Percy chose his only option:

Run like hell.

-X-

_Hades _

Hades sat silently on his dark, bony throne, one hand resting on the arm of the throne, and the other stroking his chin. His onyx eyes were locked on a one-way Iris message. His robe of souls swirled around, like they sensed the god of the dead's longing. The souls and ghosts moved around restlessly in the underworld, seeming to be affected by their lord's uneasiness.

Hades's throne room was empty; even Alecto was out. Hades slid off his throne, the soles of his boots making a slight thumping noise as they connected with the black marble of the throne room floor. Each step echoed ominously in the empty throne room, only magnifying the fact that the god of death was completely and utterly alone. Literally.

Poseidon?

In Atlantis.

Zeus?

On Olympus.

Hera?

Doesn't speak to him.

Demeter?

Hates him for marrying her daughter.

Hestia?

Doesn't have time.

Alecto?

Out punishing souls.

Persephone?

It's springtime. She's left the underworld.

Maria di Angelo, Hades's most recent—even though it was in the 1940's—lover?

Killed by Zeus.

Hades turned his vision to the Iris message once more. He watched with loving eyes—ones that are normally so indifferent and devoid of emotion—as two black-haired children walked around the Lotus Hotel and Casino, playing games and smiling without a care in the world. Hades smiled bitterly as he realized how Bianca was so much like Maria.

Bianca was always taking care of Nico, much like how Maria took care of Hades—not that he needed it, of course, but Maria always made sure that Hades was happy.

Nico was just like Hades while he was in Kronos's stomach. Believe it or not, the god of death wasn't always so callous and intolerant. He used to be naïve and cheery, much like his eleven year old son. However, Hades's darker persona stepped into the spotlight when Zeus ordered him to be confined to the underworld, without a spot on the Olympian Council. Since that day, Hades's mood became increasingly harsher and crueler, taking out his hatred for Zeus on the unfortunate souls who ended up in the Fields of Punishment.

Hades watched his daughter tuck in his son, before getting into her own bed, allowing a small and rare smile to cross his face.

"Soon, my children," Hades whispered, "you will be free."


	5. Author's Note 1

** A/N: Hello people. I haven't posted on this story in a while for two reasons.**

**I have been finishing my other story. I'm rewriting one more chapter, and then Champion of the Sun will be complete. This has taken up a lot of time.**

**I'm waiting for the poll results. As you guys and girls know (hopefully) I have put up a poll for this story on my profile. It is for Percy's pairing. I'm waiting for it to hit 100 voters before closing it and continuing the story. It is currently at 70-something so all of you who want this to be updated and haven't voted, please go vote. The pairing will dramatically affect the storyline, so that's why I need the pariing, so I know what direction to go in. So hit up that poll!**

**Current Poll Results: Reyna-33 Bianca-32 Hylla-8**

**...You Hylla people...well...yeah.**

** Hopefully I can post soon! Thank you for reading!**

**-Sinister**


	6. SPQR

**A/N: Hey, everyone! I hope you liked that last chapter. I hope I can get this one up quickly. So as you have seen, I have now introduced Reyna and Bianca (sorta) so I can go either way for the pairing. I have now found a way where I can include them both; one will be the love interest, and the other will be more like a sister. I won't explain now because I don't want to ruin the surprise, but I now have a perfect idea for the love portion of the story. By the way, this is basically an AU of the 2****nd**** Giant War. I'll kind of skim over the war with Saturn, so it will be a chapter, maybe two at the most. It will also continue after the 2****nd**** Giant War too. **

**The poll has been closed****. Obviously, Hylla did not win (Sorry Hylla fans). I stopped at 94 votes instead of a hundred, because girl in second place still wouldn't have won even if all six votes went for the girl in second place. **

** And the moment we have been waiting for . . . . . . . . . . . . The winner is . . . . . . . ****REYNA****! ****Cue fireworks and cheer of elation in the background***** **

** Final Numbers were Reyna-47 Bianca-38 Hylla-9**

** Sorry Bianca fans! Maybe the next story I'll make one Percy Bianca. Anyway, thank you for voting! Let the story begin! Preyna! JASON WILL BE PAIRED WITH PIPER. I will stick to the canon on that one. It will make the Percy/Reyna even more satisfying since Reyna will have a huge crush on Jason during the time she knows the twins.**

** Also, make sure to check out my completed story if you haven't: ****Champion of the Sun****, or my newest (incomplete) story called ****The Perishing Song****.**

**Chapter Five: S.P.Q.R.**

_Jason_

As soon as the gargantuan bull charged, the female guard—a girl named Tara—yelled, "Scatter!"

Jason didn't need to be told twice. Jason and Percy dove to the left, while the two guards shuffled to the right. The male guard—Jason didn't know his name—brandished a Roman shield and gladius, while Tara held a circular hoplite shield along with a golden spear.

The Minotaur slammed into the hill with a deafening roar, shaking the foundations of the tunnel. Jason and Percy were now standing next to the highway, while Tara and the other guard were on the other side of the Minotaur.

Jason flipped Julius, only to find himself holding a sleek, grey spear with a golden spearhead. Jason's brow knit in confusion and he turned to his brother just in time to see Percy twirl his bow. Percy's bow morphed into a golden coin identical to his own. Jason's eyes widened in realization; Jason thought back to the hellhound attack hours beforehand. Jason clearly recalled seeing a grey bow next to the golden sword—one that was identical to the one Percy was using.

Jason assumed that Percy chose the bow instead of the sword; it was the only answer he could come up with. Jason's eyes widened even further—if that was possible—as Percy flipped his coin, which caused it to transform into a spear that was identical to Jason's own.

Percy and Jason both locked eyes, both knowing that the other was thinking the exact same thing.

With Lupa, they had learned teamwork. Jason assumed that the Minotaur was a test of teamwork, but he digressed. While training, Jason and Percy had learned a two-man, offensive battle movement that Percy had nicknamed Operation Shoot and Stab. While having an absolutely atrocious name, it was an undoubtedly genius attack strategy when assaulting unintelligent monsters that were incapable of adapting to new attack formations.

Jason gave a curt nod before turning back to the Minotaur. His heart leapt into his throat, his body giving off waves of fear, but his courageous heart and steadfast intent to protect himself and his brother managed to squash the insecure and terrified potion of his brain.

Operation Shoot and Stab was pretty self-explanatory; not much was left to the imagination.

The sky darkened as cumulonimbus clouds formed in the stratosphere, lighting flashing and thunder resounding all the while. The winds whipped up into a tiny tornado-like form, causing the Minotaur to turn to them.

"Now!" Jason yelled.

Two arcs of lighting shot down from the heavens, each one hitting one of the brothers' spears. As if they were the same person, the twins thrust at the exact same moment in the exact same motion, sending the two dangerous and charged bolts straight towards the Minotaur.

Percy's bolt hit the Minotaur in her left shoulder, while Jason's struck his lower abdomen. Despite where they hit, the bolts were powerful enough to cause the massive bull to stagger backwards, waving its arms as it tried to regain its balance.

Now the entered phase two of Operation Shoot and Stab.

Jason and Percy charged forward passed the awestruck Roman guards, heading towards the Minotaur. Jason drove his spear through the Minotaur's right knee at the same Percy's stabbed the left one. The Minotaur roared (mooed?) in agony and ire, before collapsing onto its knees, only causing it to go through more pain due to the wounds the twins had inflicted on its legs.

Jason rushed forward, the adrenaline causing his heart be beat a million miles per hour, excited by the prospect of killing such a powerful beast.

Jason underestimated the Minotaur.

As soon as he got close enough, the Minotaur swung its free hand, backhanding Jason across the clearing and straight into Tara, knocking them both to the ground.

Jason's vision slammed and he could vaguely hear yelling, but his ears were ringing so loudly that he couldn't really tell. His vision narrowed and darkened, as if he was heading into a tunnel. His whole body convulsed in pain, causing him to groan in agony.

Then, the darkness overtook him.

-X-

_Percy_

"Jason!" Percy screamed.

Jason careened through the air and smashing into Tara's abdomen, knocking them both to the earth. Percy saw Jason's body shudder a little, which meant he was still alive. Hope and relief flooded through Percy's veins, expelling that unwelcome mixture of trepidation and hesitation.

Apparently, the Minotaur heard Percy desperately call for his brother, for it turned its evil, beady eyes to Percy. By the time Percy turned to the beast, it was already swinging its massive battle-axe with a great amount of force, even though the beast was still on its knees. The creature swung its weapon horizontally, clearly hoping to disconnect Percy's head from his body.

Now, Percy wasn't going to claim that he was secretly Neo from the Matrix, but he swore time seemed to slow down as the lethal, metal axe head came soaring towards his neck. His upper body slowly moved backwards, his feet staying firmly planted on the grassy ground.

His abdomen twisted backwards, making him seem like he was an expert at the limbo, almost becoming completely horizontal. Unfortunately for Percy, his head wasn't far enough away. The Minotaur had an extensive reach do to his lengthy arms, which made it extremely hard for its opponents to completely evade its attacks.

But Percy was so perfectly placed: just out of reach of the main part of the axe. The very tip of the axe sliced the skin open on his cheek, starting just to the right of his nose, and stretched just past his eye, giving him a shallow and jagged two-inch cut about an inch below his right eye.

A tiny amount of blood shot in the air like the spit of a boxer would spray outwards after he was punched in the mouth. Percy's momentum kept him falling backwards and onto his butt.

The Minotaur's attack clearly wasn't done.

The axe kept moving past Percy, whose eyes widened in horror as he saw the male guard sneaking up behind the bull. At the last second, the guard noticed the axe in his peripheral vision, causing him to hastily throw up his shield. The axe hit the shield with such force that it dented the metal, and hurled the guard backwards twenty yards. Then, a loud trumpet sounded, startling Percy greatly.

So many things were happening at one time that his brain was overloading while trying to comprehend each occurrence. He subconsciously noticed Tara blowing furiously into a war horn, the male guard rolling over to see the fight, Jason's chest rising and falling lightly, and the Minotaur rising to its feet. He heard more war horns that seemed to be in the tunnel, and heard the clanking of metal and the smell of barbeque, like someone was casually having a cookout while Percy fought for his life.

His mind then narrowed on the Minotaur, causing Percy to forget about most of the things happening around him. His sapphire eyes locked with the Minotaur's red ones, and remembered the pained cry his twin made as he flew through the air earlier, courtesy of the bull standing in front of him. The bull would pay dearly for injuring his brother.

Percy charged his free hand and flung an electric bolt at the Minotaur and charged immediately after, trying to recreate the same attack formation he and Jason did earlier.

Percy learned it doesn't work with only one person.

The bolt hit the Minotaur in the right shoulder, jerking its body backwards slightly. Unfortunately for Percy, the Minotaur had its axe in its left hand. The Minotaur saw Percy charging the left side and swung its axe, forcing Percy to put his spear up to intercept the attack. The sheer power behind the axe wrenched Percy's spear from his hands, sending it spiraling into the forest. He was weaponless.

The Minotaur made a weird facial expression—maybe a sneer—and hurled its axe into the forest before dragging one hoof back and forth under it. Despite the situation, Percy wondered if the Minotaur had some strange sense of honor; it threw away its own weapon when Percy lost his instead of gutting him while he was defenseless.

Before Percy could continue the thought, the Minotaur lowered its dirty and bloodstained horns down before charging full speed at him. Percy, in some spur of adrenaline, flung himself to the side just as the Minotaur barreled past, barely avoiding it. The massive bull slammed into the side of the mountain, causing some of the rock and dirt to spray into the air.

Percy quickly stood again, backing away from the beast. He glanced at the male guard, but he was still on the ground, clutching his shield arm. The Minotaur's blow most likely shattered his forearm. Tara stood again and ran to his side, but she was shaking nervously. Jason was still lying on his back, breathing lightly.

The Minotaur turned around, it's cruel eyes set on Percy. It lowered its horns and charged like a freight train, heading straight for the son of Jupiter. Percy tackled Tara out of the way of the bull—which was harder than it seemed, since she was wearing full body armor—and it blew by like an out of control freight train. It slammed into a couple trees in the forest, snapping them like toothpicks.

Percy hoped he might get a moment of rest, but he didn't receive it. The Minotaur almost instantaneously recovered, and charged at them again. This time, Tara dove by her own accord, swiftly getting herself out of the way of the charging animal.

Percy assumed he could do the same maneuver and evade the beast once more, but the bull seemed to have adapted. Its arms were stretched out wide, prepare dot grab him if he dived out of the way. Tara dived before it got too close, allowing her to slip past its long reach.

Unfortunately, Percy didn't realize how much time he had wasted studying the Minotaur: with its arms stretched outward, the Minotaur blocked Percy from diving to the side. Just before it slammed into him, he jumped the only direction that he could:

Up.

Percy knew as soon as he leapt upwards that he wouldn't make it. It was a risky move to jump, but it was the only thing he could do. Now, he had perfectly lined himself up to get gored by the horns. Just when he had lost hope, a small voice talked in his head.

_Focus. Use your power. The air bends to your will, child._

Percy wasn't sure who was speaking in his mind, but he obeyed, and imagined the air pushing him upwards. Sure enough, the air currents bounced him up and above where the Minotaur would pass through. Unfortunately for Percy, since it was his first time ever manipulating the air, ran out of energy fast as quickly dropped out of the air, landing directly on the head of the bull. As the bull was about to slam into the hill again, Percy managed to grab one of its horns to keep from being flung off of the monster.

The impact jarred his head, making his teeth crush against each other so pugnaciously he thought they might crack from the sheer pressure. The bull staggered backwards after colliding with the hill, and staggered around a bit, clearly disoriented.  
This was wear Percy got desperate; he had to weapon whatsoever, but the Minotaur horns looked sharp. If only he could . . .

He put his hands on the Minotaur's horn, and prayed to every single person he knew: Lupa, Trivia, his father, anyone, and everyone. Then, with almost inhuman potency, Percy inclined backwards, heaving on the Minotaur's horn as stalwartly as he could.

_SNAP!_

The horn snapped off halfway, but Percy lost his grip, therefore losing his balance. He rolled backwards and off the Minotaur's head just as it roared in agony, reaching towards its head with its meaty, hairy mandibles. Percy's head connected with the earth, creating a sickening thumping noise as it did so. His vision tripled and his muscles shook, screaming with pain and exhaustion.

The Minotaur turned towards Percy, its red eyes filled with one emotion, and one emotion only: Hatred.

Percy could tell by the look in the beast's eyes; this would be the last charge. Percy knew deep down that only one of them would survive the next confrontation. Percy shakily raised his arm, which was still holding the Minotaur horn. It was around two and a half feet long—just a bit shorter than the average sword.

Percy quickly glanced at Tara. She was sitting on the ground, clutching her abdomen. Percy wondered if Jason broke a couple of her ribs on impact with her; she looked like she was in terrible condition. Percy turned his eyes back to the Minotaur, and felt all the fear drain out of his system. It was like someone had just unplugged his emotional drain; his arms slowly stopped jittering, and his vision cleared. His eyes narrowed, and his resolve to protect his unconscious brother and the injured guards brought on a side of him he hadn't ever seen or used before.

The threatening side.

Percy raised his hands in front of his face and flipped the horn into a reverse grip so the tip of the horn pointed towards the outside of his body. Courageousness and daring entered his veins in such large amounts that they could have been considered tidal waves of emotions.

"Come on, you ugly piece of walking beef," Percy whispered to himself.

The Minotaur seemed to hear him. It slammed its hoof down and dragged it backwards, kicking up dust and small stones.

Percy's heartbeat vibrated in his ears, and his blood pressure was most likely skyrocketing. His grip tightened on the horn, sweat pouring down from his forehead. His raven hair blew slightly in the wind, and his sapphire eyes were focused on the feet of the bull, waiting for it to make the first move.

The Minotaur suddenly shot forward, lowering its horns again. Time seemed to slow, and Percy vaguely saw a small, blue glow around him. He waited until the Minotaur was close—so close, Percy swore he could smell the stench emanating from its armpits. At the very last second—had he waited any longer, he would have been a grease spot—he dove and rolled to the side.

He came up on a knee as the Minotaur passed, and he drove the horn straight into its side, just under its ribcage. The Minotaur's knees buckled, and the beast tripped and landed on its stomach, sliding across the ground, being carried by its forward momentum. It slowly stopped, and a huge trench was present where it had originally hit the ground to where it had stopped.

Percy heard a gasp. He turned around weakly to see a group of kids in armor emerging from the tunnel, staring at Percy wide-eyed. Percy felt the adrenaline fade slowly, and the pain of his injuries became gradually more present. Then, without warning, his knees buckled and his face came in contact with the earth. He vaguely heard shouts and screams, but could make out certain fragments of the conversations.

"—edic over here!"

"Minotaur horn. Get it so—"

"—assie and David so they can—"

Then, Percy gave in to the darkness, feeling it slowly lull him into the realm of Somnia.


	7. Foster Parent

** A/N: Chapter 6! I'm glad you guys like this story so far! And let the Percy/Reyna storyline begin . . . Leave reviews! Enjoy! Oh, and in this story, Gwen is a daughter of Apollo, not Mars. Sorry.**

** Okay, Champion of the Sun: The Spartan Demigod is complete, and the sequel (Champion of the Sun: Earth's Ire) is up with four chapters so far, so please go read those if you are waiting on this story. This story is a bit more complex than the others, so it takes a while to plan out the plot events in this one than the others. The Perishing Song also has a couple chapters, so that is an option too. Thanks for reading!**

** NOTE: I do, in fact, read EVERY single review that is posted. So if you don't think you want to post because you don't think I'll read it, you are totally wrong. If you have a question, I'll answer it! So don't hesitate to review! (There are no stupid questions)**

**Chapter Six: Foster Parent**

_Jason_

The darkness slowly faded away as Jason's eyelids slid open, allowing light to reach his pupils. His vision was blurred, so he blinked a couple times to flush the drowsiness from his sapphire orbs. When his vision became more focused, he realized he was gazing at a ceiling.

He was lying in a soft bed, covered in pristine, white covers. His body ached—mainly his ribs—and his right arm throbbed dully. All in all, the son of Jupiter felt like he had been run over by a monster truck and then thrown into the Grand Canyon.

Jason groaned and tried to sit up, but he was gently pressed back down.

"Don't get up," Someone ordered quietly. "The Ambrosia hasn't fully healed you yet."

Jason's vision was still blurred partially, but he could make out a hair of blonde hair and pale blue eyes. The face was fair skinned and thin, meaning that the rest of her body was most likely lean as well. As for her age; Jason believed she was maybe fourteen or fifteen.

"Percy?" Jason croaked.

"The black-haired kid?" The girl asked.

Jason nodded weakly.

"He's fine. A little exhausted, but fine. He's talking to Cassie and David. When you can walk, you can go talk to them too. I'm Gwen, by the way. Daughter of Apollo."

"Jason," He replied. "Son of Jupiter."

Gwen chuckled a bit. "Yes, everyone knows that after the light show you put on with your brother."

Seeing Jason's confused face, she continued. "You mean you didn't realize that a massive storm cloud appeared above you and started shooting lightning everywhere?"

Jason shook his head. "No . . . I must have missed that. So what happened?"

"Your brother single-handedly took down the Minotaur, or so I've heard. Gary broke his forearm in several places while Tara cracked several ribs. They weren't able to help him much, but it seems that they weren't needed. The kid killed it with its own horn."

Jason smiled for his brother. He was definitely going to be popular here. Although, he felt slightly guilty that he had been knocked unconscious. His brother had been in jeopardy, and Jason wasn't able to help him while he was taking a short snooze on the ground. Injured or not, Jason felt obligated to protect his family—his twin. Percy was all he had left, and the son of Jupiter was convinced not to lose the troublemaker like he had lost Thalia and his mother—his mother was still alive, but the alcohol had taken control over her. She was no longer the same loving woman that she was during the twins' infancy.

"Here," Gwen said, reaching for something that was out of Jason's vision. "Drink this."

Jason raised a shaky hand, and his small fingers wrapped around the glass of nectar. Jason vaguely remembered Lupa calling it the drink of the gods. Jason raised the cold glass to his lips, and nearly shivered as the surprisingly warm liquid drained down his throat. The taste of pancakes—his mother used to make them when they were littler—was present in his mouth, gradually becoming more prominent. Jason lowered the glass and handed it back to Gwen, already feeling strength coursing through his veins.

Jason sat up now, his ribs only a dull pain after drinking the liquid remedy. He was in some type of infirmary. The main room—the one he was in—was a medium size area with beds lining two opposite sides of the room. There were two doors on each side as well—Jason assumed that they led to more beds, or storage rooms of medicine.

At a small desk in the center of the room sat two boys with blond hair and blue eyes, one reading a magazine while the other was writing on a clipboard. Jason saw the male guard he had seen earlier—Gary, as Gwen called him—lying on a bed, his arm in a cast and sling. His eyes were closed, so Jason decided not to bother him.

He slid his legs over the bed and shakily stood up with Gwen's help. Once he was up, Gwen helped him to the door while chatting about the camp.

"—since you're so young," she was saying, "they probably wont make you a legionnaire yet; you'll most likely be messengers for the first couple years until you're big enough. You and your brother are even more combat efficient than some of the older kids, but you won't be able to fight until you're at least twelve, maybe eleven."

They exited the infirmary, and Jason found himself on a cobblestone road. Buildings lined both side of the streets, and people hustled and bustled down the street. Jason some teenagers as well as adults; this must be New Rome. They were in the civilian portion of the camp, which must have had the closet infirmary to the tunnel entrance.

The sun glowed brightly in the sky, bathing the beautiful city in its warm rays. A soft breeze drifted through the street, blowing Jason's hair slightly. Across the street was a cafe that was handing out coffee in exchange for denarii, the currency of the Romans. Jason frowned; he had never had coffee before.

Gwen saw what he was looking at. "Oh no, big shot. I'm not watching over a five year old hyped up on caffeine. Come on; I'll take you to the Praetors and your brother."

The duo strolled down the cobblestone road until it intersected another road, which was much wider than the one they were on. This road seemed to be the Main Street; dozens of soldiers marched through, heading for a fort that rested in a vast meadow in the distance. Fauns clopped around, excitedly talking to citizens and trying to get some denarii for tin cans. Jason wasn't sure why they needed tin cans, and he was sure he didn't want to know either.

"Via Praetoria," Gwen stated sticking her arms out and spinning slowly, gesturing to the street in its wholesome.

This road was also dotted with shops and apartments like the last street, but it was filled with much more people. Jason's sapphire eyes followed the road into the distance, where a small military camp-like installment waited at the end.

"That's Camp Jupiter," Gwen said, pointing at the military camp. "That's where the mess hall and the barracks are, along with the Praetors' villas. Once you get inducted into the Legion, you'll live there."

Jason nodded in understanding.

"It's also where the principia is—the place where the Praetors stay during the day. Your brother should be there now. Coming?"

-X-

_Percy_

David stared at Percy with a critical eye. David was a tall and burly son of Mars that had military-cropped black hair and aggressive crimson irises. His stiff posture radiated leadership and conformity—a death sentence for someone as hyperactive and rebellious as Percy.

The son of Jupiter knew that David had a liking for the typical soldier—a boy or girl that were never insubordinate and followed orders to the letter. David seemed like the kind of person that would appreciate it if every Legionnaire acted like a mindless robot that did his bidding without a single word of noncompliance.

Percy was not that type of person.

The raven-haired boy stood in front of Praetors Cassandra—also known as Cassie—and David in a slightly slouched posture. His hands were behind his back as customary when in front of superiors, but his fingers were twirling and intertwining uneasily—something that didn't go unnoticed by Cassie, who was sitting at an angle where she was able to see behind his back.

David—luckily for Percy—didn't have an angle like Cassie did.

David and Cassie were both dressed in togas with purple sashes that represented their prestigious status as Praetors. Cassie blinked her icy-blue eyes curiously at Percy, instead of scrutinizing him like David was. Cassie's dirty-blonde hair was pulled back into an elegant braid that trailed down her back, pausing at the culmination of her shoulder blades.

They were standing—well, Percy was standing, and the Praetors were seated—in the Principia, which was apparently a building that was associated with government officials. To be brutally honest, Percy felt like he was standing in a courtroom—the center of the room was totally bare, only decorated with the son of Jupiter, and a thin carpet. He felt like he was standing in a museum exhibit, on display for copious numbers of viewers to analyze.

The walls were red stucco, and slowly curved upwards until they met at the center of the ceiling, which was the highest point of the building. Percy remembered that the peak of the building had been dome-shaped when he saw it outside. Now he knew that the dome was hollow.

The ceiling was and walls were ornamented with striking tapestries—which were not peeling, unlike the Wolf House's—and stunning art. The pictures reminded him of an old chapel that his mother used to talk about called the Sistine Chapel, which was decorated by Leonardo Da Vinci himself. The art in the principia matched the beauty of Da Vinci's own, if not surpassing it.

There was a long table that stretched across the wall opposite from the sophisticated French doors, where David and Cassie were seated. Papers and file littered the table, and seemingly ancient books lined the myriad of bookshelves in the room. By the doors there was a small living room, complete with fluffed pillows and leather furniture. Even a small fish tank with a single fish rested on a side table next to the leather couch.

A purple rug led from the doors to just in front of the long table, where Percy was currently standing. His sapphire eyes darted back and forth between David and Cassie, waiting for one to say something.

David broke the silence finally. "So a son of Jupiter, huh?"

Percy nodded quietly.

"Would you mind proving it? While we all saw the storm cloud, no one actually saw you use lightning, save Tara and Gary, who are both probatios. I would appreciate if you could give me an example of your powers."

Percy noticed a candle on the table. He extended his arm and pointed his index finger at the wick of the wax candle. Electricity coursed from his elbow, sparking down his forearm until being funneled through his finger. A small arc of electricity jumped erratically from his finger, striking the very tip of the candlewick.

A small flame began.

David nodded in approval. He then glanced at Cassie. Her eyes were more compassionate—more human.

"How old are you, kid?" She asked kindly.

"Five. Almost six," Percy replied.

"And your brother?"

"We're the same age. We're twins," Percy explained.

"And he has your same powers?"

Cassie's answer was a nod. She sighed. "You're too young to join the legion, even if you are strong enough to kill the Minotaur. You and your brother will stay in New Rome with a pair of foster parents until you are ten. Then, you can be inducted into the Legion as messengers. Once you're both twelve, you can join the fighting. Got it?"

"Yes ma'am," Percy replied.

Cassie smiled kindly. If Percy had to guess, Cassie was around eighteen or nineteen, while David looked to be twenty or twenty-one. Percy assumed that they were old enough to be referred to as sir and ma'am. It was always safer to be polite, even if Percy wasn't the most reserved and respectful kid out there. To be totally frank, Percy's exposure to the mythological world had matured him. Percy no longer felt as hyper or spontaneous as he once did. For once, Percy was experiencing what it felt like to be older and more serene. Percy actually surprised himself by being perfectly polite and contained during the meeting with Cassie and David.

Cassie began to sift through papers before pulling own out. She bit her lip in anxiety, before putting the sheet down and looking through them more. Then, she sighed exasperatedly.

David frowned. "What's wrong?"

Percy leaned forward slightly, wanting to hear what had ruffled the seemingly composed Praetor so easily.

"There aren't any parents on the foster list," She answered quietly.

David raised his eyebrows. "None?"  
Cassie shook her head. "I forgot about it. The last family on the list took the son of Bacchus—Dakota. The Wilsons were the last ones in the file that were willing to take in a foster child."

David was quiet. The room was filled with an awkward silence for around ten seconds before Cassie broke it again.

"Well," she said, "I guess I'll take you two, then."

David's eyes grew big. "What? Cass, you can't be serious!"  
Judging by the way David said Cassie's nickname (even her nickname had a nickname for some reason), Percy assumed that they were closer than coworkers, and maybe even closer than "just friends".

Cassie nodded and gave Percy a smile. "I'm serious. I'll take the little guy, along with his twin. They need somewhere to stay, and my villa is much to big for just one person."

Percy gave a bright smile, imagining living with someone as nice as Cassie. His mother was partially abusive and usually intoxicated, so living with her wasn't the best time of his life. Lupa was . . . neutral, so to say. Percy didn't feel attached to the she-wolf—he felt like she was a gruff teacher that was only there to make sure he didn't die before he made it to the camp. While he appreciated Lupa's training, she wasn't exactly the best parent of adult figure either. But Cassie seemed like someone who would care for him and his twin—like Trivia. Percy knew that Trivia couldn't just show up willy-nilly, but Cassie had the freedom to be around all the time. Cassie would be the parental or sisterly figure that could take over whenever Trivia couldn't.

"So what do you say, little man?" Cassie asked. "Do you want to come live with me?"  
Percy's sapphire eyes lit up. "Yes, ma'am, I do."

-X-

_Jason_

Jason and Percy patiently waited as Cassie unlocked her villa. The villa was an Italian style building with a shade of tan coloring the exterior walls, with crimson roofing tiles (also Italian styled.) Instead of a wall surrounding the mansion—it was big enough to be considered a mansion—bushes lined the property, seven feet tall and three feet thick. A small, cast-iron gate blocked the single opening to the property, unlocking only if a key card was inserted into a small slot on the entrance mechanism just beside the gate.

The villa was next to David's, whose house was in between Cassie's and the Principia. The walk from the government building to Cassie's villa was merely five minutes long.

Cassie opened the door and gestured for them to go inside. They entered into a massive foyer with white marble columns and a granite floor that was a deep onyx color. Directly in front of them was a staircase that went up a few steps and then split, going up and to the left as well as up and to the right.

To their left was a lush, but modestly furnished, living room with a flat screen TV mounted on the wall. There was a grey sofa accompanied by two matching ottomans, and two extra recliners off to the side. To their right was a flamboyant dining room with a long and wide rectangular, glass table that seated at least twelve. Plates, napkins, and silverware rested in front of each seat. A small vase filled with roses rested as the centerpiece of the table.

"Come on, I'll show you around," Cassie said kindly.

She led them into and through the dining room, going through a door that Jason hadn't noticed. They came into a large kitchen with grey granite counters and a matching island that held a bowl of fruit. Percy, being the more daring of the two, immediately went to the fridge and opened it up.

"Whoa," Percy mumbled, ad Jason couldn't help but silently agree.

The fridge was stocked to the brim, filled with dozens of foods that Jason hadn't even heard of. The ones he did know of were ones he had either never had or only had rarely—his mother didn't have a lot of money to buy expensive food. Jason had grown immunity to eating ramen noodles.  
Cassie laughed. "Hungry? We can finish the tour later, if you want."

"Oh yeah," Percy answered for them, "We are _really_ hungry."

**A/N: Well, there is the chapter. The next one will probably skip a couple years, when they are messengers as ten year olds. So I hope you have liked the story so far! Review/favorite/follow! (Preferably review). See you guys and girls next chapter!**


	8. The Training Begins

**A/N: And here is chapter 7! *****Cue elated cheering in the background and lots of clapping***

**Anyway, please leave reviews and all that stuff! If you do that, it lets me know that you guys like what I'm writing! So please do it!**

**NOTE: I decided not to skip forward in time. He will remain tiny Percy for a bit longer :D**

**Ayoandrew: **Yes, Percy will still be skilled with a sword. When he is put in the Legion, he'll receive a standard gladius, which will be his first sword. Later on, he might get another sword, but I'm mostly going to stick with the javelin. The reason I did this (giving him a javelin and a bow) is because it was different and rather rare. I wanted to do something wayyyy out there that no one thinks about too much.

**xRinneandSharinx:** Yes! I'm so glad you noticed that! That was actually what I was going for. Percy and Jason are the modern day Romulus and Remus, and their sibling rivalry will be through the roof when they fight for Praetor positions other stuff like that. At one point, I have it planned that they are basically going to explode at each other and not speak for days. It's going to be great.

**JaDYN78:** Thank you! I try to proofread a lot before I post. You should see the amount of red squiggly lines when I first finish a chapter. It's incredible. And yes, it will be a couple chapters until Reyna comes. Soon though!

**Rebfan90:** I know! Me too! Reyna will show up soon.

**Ancient Tide**: Thank you! I want Percy to be different than he is in the canon. Growing up with Romans should make him more stern and quiet (AKA badass), so his personality will be much different than if he grew up with the Greeks.

**Duskrend14: **Yeah, there will be a bit of Cassie-twin bonding, so don't worry about that. And yeah I think if forgot to mention it, but Jason has blond hair, while Percy has black. I meant to say that, so thanks for catching my mistake. I decided not to skip yet. I want to add in a bit before I skip to their messenger time period, so the beginning will follow the last chapter time-wise.

**NomomoCutieXD**: Jason's hair is blond. Sorry haha I kind of forgot to mention it in the previous chapters.

**Chapter Seven: The Training Begins**

_Percy_

Percy grunted as the flat of Cassie's blade struck his unprotected ribs. The daughter of Mercury backed up slightly, shaking her head in disapproval.

"Keep you guard up, but not that high. You left your stomach open. You would be dead if that was a real fight. Don't let defeating the Minotaur fuel your ego. You aren't invincible."

Percy nodded and wiped the sweat from his brow, holding his spear in an offense stance, ready to jab forward. He was wearing a long-sleeved purple tee with an Imperial golden chest plate over it, with Imperial gold bracers covering his wrists and lower forearms. He wore leather boots with a miniscule amount of armor on the outside. He didn't necessarily need any leg protection—Cassie wouldn't bother hammering his legs while she was teaching him. While getting wounded in the legs would incapacitate most people, the monsters weren't smart enough to strategize like that—they would go for the more vital points like the head and abdomen. Percy wouldn't need to worry much about his thighs and shins during a battle unless engaged in combat with a more intelligent enemy.

Cassie transferred her weight between feet, rocking slightly as her hawk-eyes scrutinized Percy's stance. They were in the backyard of Cassie's villa, where a small ring of sand could be used as a training ground. Weapon and armor racks were a couple feet from the ring, up against the bushes that boxed in the property. Jason sat on an oak wood bench that was next to the weapon racks, sipping a cup of water.

Jason and Percy had been living with Cassie for a week now; she was a great girl, kind of like the twins' older sister. In fact, Cassie managed to painfully remind Percy of Thalia. The daughter of Mercury acted hardy and unyielding sometimes (much like Thalia), but she was a gigantic softie (also like Thalia)—they had watched Finding Nemo at least three times that week, and Cassie had cried one time. In other words, Percy and Jason adored Cassie. She was a loving mother/sister, but didn't spoil the twins too much (hence the slapping with the blade).

Cassie was—to be brutally honest—a harsh teacher. Percy swore he had at least a dozen bruises from being pummeled by the daughter of Mercury's sword. She was careful not to cut him, but she was relentless when it came to slapping him with the flat side.

Cassie was a stickler for stance and movement; she wanted Percy to keep his balance at all times, and to always make sure to keep his weight on the correct foot at the correct times. Her icy-blue eyes were as sharp as a bird's—she always noticed the mistakes Percy made during his sparring sessions.

Even though he didn't particularly enjoy jogging ten laps around the villa before each session, he knew he would be thankful for it once he got old enough to fight in the Legion. Cassie was truing to make sure that he and Jason were prepared for the strict and harsh membership in the Legion—something that Percy would be eternally grateful for. Percy had learned in the span of a week to be more obedient, and most of his insubordinate attitude had vaporized like water on a blistering summer day. There was a chain of command, and Cassie—as well as Lupa—had taught him to respect it, not test it.

Percy knew that the other kids his age were most likely enjoying their time at the baths or frolicking in the Field of Mars while Percy was getting pummeled by Cassie. While a small portion of him felt slightly envious of the relaxing children, his sense of obligation and nobility reminded him that Percy would be ready when the time came to join the Legion, while the others wouldn't be near as prepared. Cassie seemed hell-bent on training Percy and Jason to be the perfect soldiers—training them to be the _best_. And he was appreciative of her indomitable assertiveness, because he realized that he would value it in the long run.

Percy lunged forward, intent on slicing her stomach. With the swiftness of a panther, Cassie lashed out, slapped his spear away, kicked his leg out from under him, spun around him, and finally slammed the hilt of her sword into his back. Percy collapsed on the ground in a bruised heap.

"Where was your weight?" She asked as she backed up, allowing him to ascend.

Percy groaned painfully as he stood. "Back foot."

"You were lunging; it should have been on your front. See how easily I disabled your leg? If you had weight on it, it wouldn't have buckled so easily. Again."

Percy positioned himself again. He lunged, this time putting his weight behind the lunge, transferring it to his front leg. Cassie swatted the spear away and tried to kick his leg again, but it didn't budge due to the amount of pressure Percy had on it. Percy jumped back before Cassie could attempt to smack him again.

Cassie nodded approvingly. "Good. See how your leg didn't move? You kept your weight on it this time. Now try defense."  
Percy flipped the spear so that it was horizontal in his hands. When using a spear, it was almost impossible at intercepting blows like one could with a sword; he would have to use the shaft to block most attacks instead of striking out like he would have to do if he was using his training gladius.

"Weight?" Cassie asked, eyeing his form.

"Back leg," Percy replied.

"Good. Ready?"  
Percy nodded, and Cassie swung her blade in a downward arc. Percy swiftly thrust the shaft upward. The blade bounced off the shaft, hitting between his hands. Percy shoved with the weapon, pushing Cassie's blade away. Cassie tried swiping at his stomach next.

Percy thrust and met her blow head on, deflecting her attack once more. Cassie nodded and smiled

"Nice job. Go to the archery range and practice with Gwen, Perce. Jason! Your turn!"

Percy quickly stripped off the constricting and hot armor, relishing in the cool sensation that was brought on by the soft breeze that was hitting his sweaty body. He flipped Augustus and he was then holding his sleek grey bow. His quiver was already slung over his shoulder.

Percy hustled around the house and arrived at the gate of Cassie's villa, where he then nearly ran into someone after he went through the gate. Luckily, the person swiftly sidestepped, avoiding Percy entirely.

"Watch it, kid," David reprimanded.

Percy felt an disagreeable feeling rise in his stomach. Even after being here for a week, Percy still hadn't warmed up to Cassie's boyfriend, or vice versa. After fixating David with a harsh glare (well, as harsh as tiny five year old could manage), Percy turned back around and continued to the archery range while David opened the gate.

Percy walked down Via Praetoria, heading for the New Rome. He passed lots of soldiers, all of whom muttered quietly and made pointed looks at him. Apparently, Percy and Jason were at the center of every gossiping conversation in New Rome. Percy could understand why; two sons of Jupiter show up, kill a Minotaur, and then get fostered by a Praetor. Percy didn't want to be arrogant, but they were kind of a big deal. Cassie had told them that children of Jupiter were very, very rare, but extremely powerful.

Percy inwardly groaned when he spotted Terminus.

The god of borders was the most OCD person he had ever met, and that was saying something since the son of Jupiter currently resided in a city/camp filled with ADHD and dyslexic demigods. You would think someone in the city was radically OCD, but no one even came close to Terminus's level. While Terminus had a good heart and wasn't necessarily a devious god, his obsessive compulsion disorder did tend to make him quite peeving to those who talked to him.

"Grace! Yes, you!" Terminus called to him.

Percy restrained the urge to roll his eyes and ambled over to the statue.

"Yes, Terminus?"  
Terminus was just a statue with a torso and head—he had no legs or arms, but Percy had learned the hard way not to comment on his lack of appendages (he was forced to cut the grass by one-tenth of an inch for an hour before Cassie found him). Terminus looked accusingly at Percy.

"No weapons inside the Pomeranian Line, Mr. Grace. Hand over your coin of electric destruction, please. I'd rather keep my city in tact, thank you. And tuck your shirt in."

Percy, again, had to force himself to refrain from rolling his eyes at the easily irritated god of boundaries. He fished Augustus out of his pocket and dropped it in a small tray next to the statue, and quickly shoved the bottom of his shirt into his pants before walking through the Pomeranian Line, and into New Rome.

-X-

_Trivia_

Jupiter's brow creased. "I don't know," he muttered, but loud enough for the other gods to hear him.

The Twelve Olympians, plus Trivia, were in the throne room on Olympus. The twelve major gods sat proudly in their thrones, power radiating off of them in insurmountable waves. Compared to the Olympians, Trivia felt like a small insect that was flying around in a room filled with people with bug swatters.

One wrong move results in a deafening _smack_.

"Brother, if I may," Neptune asked, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees.

Jupiter gestured for him to continue. Neptune's sea green eyes scanned Trivia, making her feel like she was some type of artifact on a pedestal in some important museum that all the paleontologists were trying to dissect. She felt extremely self-conscious, and absentmindedly rocked back and forth on her heels, trying to suppress the urge to whirl around and sprint out of the room at top speed.

Neptune then leaned back. "I know he is your child, Jupiter, but I can already see the positive impact she has had on him."

Jupiter nodded thoughtfully. "And what do you think of Juno?"  
All heads swiveled between Neptune and Juno, who was glaring at Neptune as if to dare him to say something negative. Neptune shrugged slightly.

"I'll admit that I haven't really been watching Perseus's twin. But I can definitely guarantee that Trivia's impact on Perseus has been a progressive one."

Jupiter nodded and looked around at the other gods. "Fine. I consent. Does anyone have any objections toward this movement?"

No one opposed the movement.

Jupiter nodded and turned his attention back to Trivia. "Congratulations, Trivia. I hereby grant you official confirmation from Olympus to adopt my son. And wait here, I wish to speak with you in private after the meeting is over."

Trivia nodded, not even bothering to hide her colossal smile. Neptune noticed and winked at her. Trivia quietly thanked him mentally, before returning to a temporary throne—a tiny one—beside Mars's throne.

Jupiter cleared his throat. "Now, back to my wife," Juno's eyes narrowed slightly at this. "Does anyone have comments or concerns about her being the patron of my other son, Jason?"

Apollo stood. Jupiter nodded to spur him to speak. Apollo's eyes suddenly switched colors from a bright azure to deep emerald. Green mist puffed from his mouth and swirled around in the throne room. His deeply tan skin paled drastically, leaving him a pasty shade of white. His mouth open and spoke in a voice that sounded tripled.

"_Seven half-bloods shall answer the call, To storm or fire, the world must fall, An oath to keep with a final breath, And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death,_" Apollo croaked.

Diana quickly leapt up with the grace of a feline and caught her brother before he could collapse on the marble floor. Apollo gave a heart-wrenching cough and hastily sucked in breath. When he caught his breath he nodded at his sister, letting her know that he was all right. Diana quickly returned to her throne, albeit shot Apollo several worried glances.

Apollo cleared his throat. "That is why it is important."

Jupiter's brow creased. "That was a prophecy, but what does it have to do with Juno and Jason?"

Apollo shot a pointed look at Juno. "I believe your wife knows the answer to that."

Heads once again swiveled to the queen of the gods. Juno looked slightly anxious—an emotion that Trivia had never seen Juno wear so openly before.

"The camps will have to be reunited in order to stop something much larger than Saturn. Neither camp could do it alone."

Jupiter looked outraged. "You _actually_ wish for the Romans to meet the Greeks?"

Jupiter's form flickered slightly, shifting into a more paranoid and ornery version of himself before flipping back to his Roman form, where he was a much better ruler and a whole hell of a lot calmer. In other words, schizophrenia was terrible.

Juno shifted slightly. "My plan is risky, but the only one we will have. But let's not talk about that yet; we still have Saturn to deal with."

Jupiter shifted to Zeus. The other gods quickly followed suit. "The Greeks will deal with Kronos himself. The Romans will have to deal with Mount Othrys and Krios. My sons will be the ones to topple the Black Throne."

The sense of honor and arrogance in Zeus's voice was practically palpable. Triv—_Hecate _rolled her eyes at the pompousness of the king of the gods. Zeus was an ambitious, power hungry man whose only use for his children was to further accumulate prestige and bragging rights. Hecate wasn't even sure if Zeus cared for his children—Thalia, Percy, _or_ Jason. He just seemed so . . . indifferent.

The gods quickly shifted back to their Roman forms once the Romans were mentioned again. Trivia reached up and rubbed her temples, trying to keep the usual migraine that came from shifting forms away. Alas, her efforts proved futile as a raging, sharp pain originated in the depths of her head.

It was blatantly obvious that the others were suffering the effects as well. As the meeting continued about other things, she saw several gods rub their heads of grimace, or in some rare cases—courtesy of Mercury—a melodramatic groan of pain would echo through the room.

Soon the meeting was over and the gods and goddesses were dismissed. Trivia stood and patiently waited for Jupiter to approach her.

"Milord," Trivia greeted, bowing to the king of the gods. Truth be told, Trivia actually respected Jupiter—not Zeus, mind you: only his Roman form. Jupiter was honorable and reputable, while Zeus was just a toddler in an adult's body that had a serious case of paranoia.

Jupiter smiled, but he looked quite . . . awkward? Trivia wasn't sure. His body language screamed discomfort; his foot tapped and he was shifting wait between his feet while his eyes darted around the throne room, looking at everything but Trivia.

"I—uh," Jupiter began, before clearing his throat. "I'm not exactly . . . er, _adequate _when is comes to parenting, but I . . . just . . . can you tell me how they are doing every once and a while? I can't exactly visit them, but I want them to know that I am . . . _proud_ of them. Um, can you please do that?"

To be totally frank, Trivia was not expecting that. Jupiter was a rather detached father, and rarely made an effort to check on his children, mortal or immortal alike. Trivia's face was graced by a small smile.

"I'll make sure of it, milord," Trivia said before turning to leave.

Then she stopped. "Milord?"

"Yes?" Jupiter asked.

"If you ever want to contact them, do it through a dream. I can shield it from the other gods. They would never know," She told him.

She heard him chuckle. "I'm might take you up on that."

Trivia flashed away.

**A/N: And there it is! A shorter chapter, but still full of information! We have 95 reviews! WOOO! Let's break 100! Come one people! Leave questions, comments, anything! See ya next chapter!**


	9. New Friends and Enemies

**A/N: Chapter Eight is here! Yay! Be sure to review! Oh, and I have created a community called Percy and Reyna Stories. I thought that pairing could use a community, so if you know of any Percy/Reyna stories, please PM me so I can add them. Thanks!**

**NOTE: This is a totally minor filler chapter that only exists to introduce Octavian and Dakota. The hydrophobia part isn't really necessary, but I fell like it would be rushed if I just immediately skipped forward by five years. I want to develop relationships a bit more before I make that jump.**

** Duskrend14: **Thank you for trying haha. Reyna will show up in a few chapters I think. And with Jupiter, I wanted to do something different since every story portrays him as some kind of heartless bastard. They said that their Roman forms had different personalities, so I decided to make him more . . . Roman. So he's a lot more honorable since that's important to the Romans. And yeah that chapter was super tiny. Sorry. This one will be bigger.

**Rebfan90**: Yep, Trivia has gotten permission to adopt him, which means he will gain a small portion of her powers. In order to keep him from becoming overpowered, he will only be able to inherit a teeny tiny power from her. It will be kind of the same thing that Hazel gets from Hecate in the canon; a small ability to manipulate the Mist.

**xRinneandSharinx**: Yeah you were right on the dot with that. And yes, shit is going to go down once they start getting jealous of each other.

**HeirOftheHowlingWolves**: Thank you for sticking with me from the beginning! It means a lot! Hopefully I can update quickly.

**Commander of Chaos:** Percy/Reyna. Bianca will still have a role, however.

**FabolousGandalf:** Thank you! Don't worry. Once I finish a story (whether it is this one or another) a Percy/Bianca fic will be on the way.

**Guest**: Updates will get slower. I'm sorry I can't update all the time, but I have school and stuff to pay attention to. While writing is really fun, school is more important to me, so this is only a second priority. I'll try to update as much as I can.

**Chapter Eight: New Friends and Enemies**

_Jason_

Jason had always hated water.

Before he was introduced to the mythological world, Jason didn't have a rational explanation to why he despised and—dare he say it—_feared_ water. When he was around it, a sense of dread seemed to start consuming his thoughts, and replacing them with horrible scenarios of him drowning or being pulled to the bottom by a vicious shark.

He heard Percy shift nervously next to him.

As sons of Jupiter, they were never supposed to go into their uncles' domain, no matter what the circumstance. Jason hadn't met Neptune, but he was sure that the god of the sea would attempt to drown them if they got into the lake.

"You can do it," Jason heard Cassie say, putting a hand on each twin's shoulder.

Jason shook his head fearfully. "No."

Cassie sighed. "Listen, do you know what this is?"

Percy frowned. "A lake?"

Cassie groaned. "No, my little ball of electricity, that's not what I meant."

Jason saw Percy smile fondly at Cassie's nickname for him.

"What I meant was your fear of water. It's called hydrophobia. Do you know what a phobia is?"

Jason nodded. "It's a fear of something. The word is derived from the Greek god of fear named Phobos."

The three of them shivered a bit when a _Graecus_ god was mentioned. Cassie stepped forward in front of them before crouching in front of them. Her eyes bored into them like a doctor looking at an X-ray of their bodies. Her gaze was so penetrating that Jason shifted uncomfortably.

"Yes, but you left out a part; a phobia is an irrational fear—something that you fear for absolutely no reason."

Percy's eyes widened comically. "But we actually have a legitimate reason!"

Cassie shook her head. "Being afraid of your uncle isn't an authentic reason to be petrified of the water. You're giving in to apprehension; hell, you don't even know what Neptune is like! He may like you, for all you know."

Jason glared at the water. Then he looked at Cassie. "I doubt it," he muttered warily, turning his sapphire orbs back to the waves that softly lapped at the sandy beach. Cassie was right, however; neither Jason nor Percy had ever met their uncle. But also, Jason wasn't an idiot, even though he merely five. Jason had learned from Lupa that the three sons of Saturn tended to hold deadly grudges against each other, strengthening their bitter rivalries with the death of each child of the Big Three. Jason was sure that he didn't want to end up floating lifelessly in the lake.

Other kids and adults were laughing and swimming like it was no big deal, but to the twins, this was like facing their nemesis—fear. Jason saw a skinny kid playing with some of his friends, and occasionally pointing at the twins and snickering. Jason frowned slightly; why was the scrawny guy laughing at them?

Cassie followed Jason's eyes and scowled. She looked at a man that was reclining on a lawn chair, a little ways from the gaunt boy. He was skeletal and had hair that was so blond that it could have been considered platinum. He wore sunglasses over his eyes and lazily flipped a page in the novel he appeared to be reading.

"Randy!" Cassie yelled.

Randy grunted, and then, without looking up, called, "Go away, I'm reading!"

Over the time Jason had lived with Cassie, he had realized that she had two different images: her Praetor image and real image. As Praetor, Cassie was known as a ruthless politician who would not take disrespect lying down. Apparently, she had dismissed six senators from their positions the year before for not paying attention during one of the Senate meetings. Cassie was sometimes called "Cold-Hearted Cass" behind her back, and Jason figured that she was aware that they called her that. Cassie had to be stern and collected, or none of the other officials in the Roman government system would take her seriously. But since she was so intimidating, the others tended to take her very, _very_ seriously: an intelligent decision in Jason's opinion.

Her second image was the one she showed to Percy and Jason. While she was a headstrong girl who always had to have her way, she was also kindhearted and empathetic. She treated Jason and Percy like a loving sister—like . . . like Thalia. Cassie hadn't even known the two more than a week, yet she treated them both as if they were her own kin. This was the loving compassionate side of Cassie that no one ever noticed behind the merciless, sly politician known as Cold-Hearted Cass: a side that most people would never see. Fortuitously, Jason and Percy were among the few people that would be graced by the presence of this side of Cassie.

"Your Praetor is speaking to you!" Cassie yelled, her dominating side making an appearance. Cassie wasn't one to be ignored, and would pull her superiority card whenever it was necessary.

The man—Randy, as Cassie had called him—immediately looked up, removing his sunglasses. His eyes were wide with shock; he clearly hadn't realized who was calling him. Randy tossed his book into the sand and hurriedly moved over to the trio, smiling at Cassie in a rather forced manner.

"Oh, Praetor!" Randy exclaimed. "I didn't realize it was you! Please forgive my impolite behavior. Is there something you need?"

Jason rolled his eyes at the typical sycophant behavior. This Randy clearly wanted to remain on good terms with the Praetor, even if that meant kissing her toes repeatedly or showering her with almost theatrical compliments.

Cassie's frosty eyes burned holes in Randy's face, making him shift uneasily.

"I'd like you to tell your son to stop making fun of these two. They have hydrophobia, and he is not making it any better by laughing at them," Cassie explained.

Randy looked at her incredulously before chuckling. "Kids will be kids, won't they? I'm sure the two aren't bothered by Octavian's teasing. It's good-natured, right boys?"

Neither twin replied. Instead, Jason shot a look at Cassie as if to say, 'is this guy for real?'

Randy's smile fell when the two didn't confirm anything he had said. He looked back at Cassie and noticed the steadfast look in her eye, and apparently decided not to test her for the fear of being demoted or cited for insubordination.

"Er, yes Praetor," Randy said hastily, "I'll tell him to play nice."

Randy quickly hurried towards the boy—Octavian, as Cassie had called him—and seemed to exchange a couple words with him. As Randy turned and returned to his chair, Octavian shot Jason a sly look. And rolled his eyes before turning and whispering something to his buddies. Much to Jason's embarrassment, they all guffawed and kept shooting stealthy glances at he and Percy.

Jason felt suddenly sensed a light presence of electricity, and glanced at Percy. Sparks were shooting off his body and then arcing back into it again. It was clear that the scarecrow kid irritated Percy as well.

"Can we please do something to him?" Jason asked hopefully, turning back to the daughter of Mercury.

Cassie sighed. "Unfortunately, no. He is next in line for the augury position. His father is the current augur. Attacking someone with that high up of a position wouldn't fare well for you two. Even I wouldn't be able to stop you from being punished."

Percy sighed. "Fine."

The beach was inside the Pomeranian Line, just outside the forum, where all the shops public meeting areas were. It was Saturday, and Cassie and David had granted the Legion the day off—there was an abundant quantity of people at the beach consequently. Apparently, most of the Legionnaires had decided to spend their afternoon off by swimming in the lake.

If Jason had to guess, there were maybe one hundred total kids and adults on the beach. Only a hand fill of the beach's occupants were his and Percy's age—Octavian and his two buddies, and a younger boy with eyes the color of a mixture of lavender and crimson that was toddling around by two blond-haired adults that looked like they were married.

Cassie cleared her throat. "Now, let's test the water, shall we?"

-X-

_Percy_

Percy and Jason stood shirtless in front of the lake, both wearing bathing suits. This was normal for others, but Percy's heart was thumping four times as fast as it usually did. His hands felt clammy and moist with sweat that came with his apprehension.

"You first, Percy," Cassie told him.

Percy took a cautious step forward. The tide lapped at his tan toes, making him cringe slightly. Although he attempted to look blank-faced, anyone that had seen him would have known that he was frightened.

Percy steeled his nerves and tried to dissuade his heart from beating so quickly, but it didn't work so well. Ignoring his fears to the best of his abilities, Percy put on foot in the water. Percy squeezed his eyes shut, preparing to meet some terrible and ruthless end, but found that nothing out of the ordinary happened. He dared to open one eye.

The waves lapped at his ankle like he was just the same as the other kids and adults, not the child of the god of the sea's fiercest rival. It just . . . waved. Percy was surprised to say the least; he assumed something melodramatic or outlandish would occur when he stepped into a domain that he wasn't supposed to be in.

Either Neptune wasn't paying close attention to his domain, or he was deciding to spare Percy. Percy tentatively put his other foot in the lake, and cracked a small smile when nothing happened. The water was cool and refreshing, like he had been purified of some type of ghastly disease. It was . . . enlightening, so to say.

Percy heard and excited, "Yes!" from behind him.

He turned around and was immediately engulfed in a tight hug by Cassie.

"You did it, little man," She whispered excitedly in his ear.

Jason stepped up and gained the same results, including the hug from the daughter of Mercury. Cassie then smiled at the twins.

"Nice job. Go have some fun," Cassie told them.

Percy heard Jason snort. "As long as it has nothing to do with the beach."

-X-

Percy and Jason sat in a small cafe in New Rome, just off Via Praetoria. Apparently Cassie knew the barista (actually, who doesn't know Cassie?) so they got hot chocolate and a couple muffins for free. While it was only August, and it was nearly eighty degrees outside, the boys were still overjoyed to have hot chocolate. Living with a drunken, piss-poor mother didn't exactly allow them to have some of the finer things in life, which included hot chocolate.

The cafe was tiny; it was a single about the size of Cassie's villa's living room, plus two bathrooms. There were only three of four tables besides the bar stools, and every seat was full.

When Percy gazed around at the other customers, he spotted a boy about their age sitting at the table beside them. The kid was eating a scone with two blond-headed adults, who were both engrossed in a seemingly deep conversation with the couple sitting on the other side of them.

The boy himself was about Jason's height—just slightly shorter than Percy—and had strange violet eyes. At the first look, they looked an entirely lavender color—like Trivia's—but on closer inspection, Percy could detect a couple traces and shades of crimson, making his eyes look like the color of grape juice. He had black hair that was cut in a military style, leaving three inches between his hairline and his eyes.

The kid happened to turn and look at Percy before the son of Jupiter could turn away. For a second, they just stared at each other curiously—like they were analyzing each other. Percy's head tilted to the right slightly, and a small frown played on his lips.

The silence continued for a minute, until Jason finally spoke up.

"What's your name?"

The kid looked at them warily for a minute. "Mrs. Wilson says I shouldn't talk to strangers."

"Well if we told you our names, we wouldn't be strangers anymore," Jason pointed out.

The boy seemed to ponder it for a minute before nodding. Jason smiled and stretched out his hand.

"I'm Jason."

"And I'm Percy," Percy said afterward.

The boy's eyes lit up as he shook their hands. "You're them!"

Percy frowned. "Who?"

The boy's smile was so broad that Percy found it hard to believe that it hadn't ripped his face in half yet. "The sons of Jupiter! Everyone knows about you! Mr. Wilson told me that you are supposed to be dangerous. You don't look so dangerous."

Percy said, "Um—"

"I'm Dakota," the boy interrupted, "But you can call me Kota if you want; Mr. And Mrs. Wilson do. I'm a son of Bacchus."

**A/N: Okay . . . this was a major filler chapter, and has no real plot other than meeting Octavian and Dakota. I wanted to show you that their relationships started off early. Octavian and the twins are already at odds, and will remain that way. Dakota will practically become a second brother to Percy and Jason. The hydrophobia thing isn't really important, but it was necessary when it came to the Cassie-twins bonding. Next chapter will skip to their time as messengers. Hopefully, this will be chapter where Reyna comes in because you people are PRACTICALLY SLAPPING ME with PM's and reviews to add Reyna in. But it's okay because it's long overdue. I hope I can get her in next chapter. If I can't, it will DEFINITELY be in the one after the next. Thanks for reading!**


	10. Of Inductions and Destructions

**A/N: Chapter 9! This will hopefully include Reyna! Upcoming action! (Finally). Also, I've created a community called "Percy and Reyna Stories" since there are so few Percy/Reyna stories. If you know of a story of have written one that isn't just fluff (it needs a good plot) then please PM me! Make sure to follow the community too!**

** NOTE: IF THIS CHAPTER DOESN'T INCLUDE REYNA, THEN THE NEXT ONE WILL ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY WITHOUT A DOUBT INCLUDE HER. I'm sorry for putting it off so long but I want to focus on their life as a whole, not just the main plotline and romance stuff. It will come though, so don't worry!**

**xRinneandSharinx:** Yes, the twins will practically be revered when they are older. Of course, being the sons of Jupiter, lots of soldiers will be envious. They will be loved by half the camp, and hated by the rest.

**AncientTide**: Yeah, I know that Reyna only stayed there four years, but I'm just timing it so she leaves Circe's island at the age of twelve. As long as she leaves at the right age, it won't really matter much how long she was there.

**GreekAdict:** Yeah I've messed up with some of the weapon names. I should have said "Hasta" instead of javelin. And for the shields I should have gone with "Parma", which is a circular shield almost identical to a Greek hoplite shield. Thanks for pointing it out though. Hopefully it won't screw up the story much. Maybe when I finish or get really far along, I'll go back and change a couple of the names.

**Snow Wolfe6631**: Sorry I missed your question last time! Yes, Bianca will still be in the plot (a huge role, actually). While she isn't paired with Percy, she will still show up.

**Rebfan90:** Lol thanks for another slap . . .

**Swiftstrike2010 and** **obEyDaNiElOrDiE**: I think they will be equal. I'll try to keep them balanced with the other so one doesn't surpass the other.

**Guest**: Yes, that is what I meant. Percy will be very reluctant to date Reyna because he will believe that he is some type of consolation prize for her since she couldn't get Jason. That will be a major obstacle in their love life.

**Karen Li**: I actually want to thank you for saying this, because it gives me an opportunity to explain more of the plot beforehand. Yes, I have made it painfully obvious that Percy is in the spotlight. But I have a reason: he will be absolutely crushed by Jason in popularity when they get older. Jason will kill Krios and become the war hero, while Percy is just "Roman Hero's" brother in the background. Percy gets this sliver of limelight but Jason will come more into focus. It's hard to develop both characters simultaneously. But **(MAJOR SPOILER DON'T READ UNLESS YOU WANT TO)** Jason will become praetor, but will also disappear. Reyna will love Jason at first and will struggle with her feelings about Percy. Thanks for reviewing!

**Chapter Nine: Of Inductions and Destructions**

_Percy_

"I'd like to welcome all of you to the annual Legionnaire induction ceremony!" David exclaimed.

The crowd of New Romans roared with applause and cheers, elated that the Cohorts would be receiving new soldiers. Percy, Jason, and Dakota were standing close to the front of the makeshift stage that had been set up just outside the Pomeranian Line. The trio was dressed in suits of Roman armor known as _lorica segmentata_. The _lorica segmentata_ was a type of body armor primarily used in the early Roman Empire. The armor itself consisted of broad ferrous strips that were fastened with leather strips that were concealed by the metal portions of the armor. They were heavyweight, but they were more than adequate at protecting the torso.

Since the three were only ten, even the smallest-sized armor was a little too large on them. Percy had to constantly shift his armor so it rested on his shoulders correctly, as did the others. Helms weren't required, thankfully, for they were also too large to fit on the head of a ten-year-old. Every section of his armor seemed to chafe his skin.

The younger kids (those under the age of twelve) stood in nearly perfect lines, mirroring the older kids, who were in a second group. Percy, Jason, and Dakota were in the front, along with a blonde girl and a black-haired boy that Percy didn't know. Directly behind Percy was Octavian, flanked by both of his buddies: a son of Mars named Bobby, and a son of Mercury known as James. James was quieter than Octavian and Bobby, but had this mad glint in his eye that informed Percy that the son of Mercury was most likely waiting for the perfect moment to insult or degrade him in some way or manner. Bobby was a pinheaded brute: broad-shouldered and muscled, but about as intelligent as a doorknob. Lupa had told the twins during their early training that intelligence was no doubt the most authoritative armament that a Roman soldier could possess.

Bobby obviously missed that day.

Switching trains of thought, Percy smiled partially as he imagined his mother's reaction to his induction, even though he would only be a Junior Legionnaire. For the past couple years, Trivia had visited Percy in his dreams since she was seldom able to converse with him in person. Trivia was a respectable mother, even if she wasn't able to attend in person very habitually. She was an exceptional mother, actually—a whole hell of a lot better than his birth mother. During his dreams, Trivia had been teaching Percy how to utilize his limited abilities when it came to magic. His adoption had siphoned into a small reserve of magic inside of his body; it was a small concentration, but it was existent.

During combat, he would never be able to trust his magic to work. Trivia had warned him that destructive magic was powerful, but extremely unreliable. Other than his regular combat abilities, the only powers he could rely on during fights would be his weak control over the winds and his much greater rheostat over electricity. Over his years of guidance—courtesy of both Cassie and Trivia—Percy had realized that he only inherited certain powers from his father. While Jason had exceptional control over wind, Percy could only summon a single rough breeze before overexerting himself. However, Percy had much more control over his abilities with electricity that Jason did.

Trivia had guessed that since they were twins, Jupiter's traits had divided into each twin separately, leaving an unbalanced amount of supremacy in each twin's DNA. Jason had received aero kinesis from their father, while Percy had received electro kinesis and atmo kinesis—the ability to summon electricity and create storms (although quite weak at his youthful age), respectively. While neither was particularly stronger than the other, they were each more potent than their counterpart in different areas.

But coming back to Trivia's magic, Percy had enough power to create trivial **(A/N: Pun intended! Trivia and "trivial"? No? Okay . . .),** apprentice spells that had almost pathetic effects. The only area of magic in which he thrived was when it came to the manipulation of the Mist. On several occasions, he had caused Jason to have short-term memory loss; his twin would forget what had happened in the past five minutes or so. Of course, Jason had volunteered to help Percy practice, but telling his twin that after his memory had been altered was still rather challenging. Percy couldn't count how many times he had been accused of taking Jason's memory without his consent since Jason had forgotten that he had, in fact, given Percy permission.

At some times, it was humorous. But in others . . . well, Cassie had to intervene.

So far, only Cassie, Dakota, and Jason knew of Percy's affiliation to Trivia. No others had been notified—not even David. Cassie had decided to keep it a secret for now, for intentions that Percy wasn't entirely sure of. Jason's patron, Juno, had been kept a secret as well. Again, Percy was unaware of the reasoning behind Cassie's decision to keep those facts under the hat.

"As most of you know," David continued, "today is the day that boys become men, and girls become women. This is the climax of your childhood, ladies and gentlemen; there is no turning back once you have been marked with the SPQR tattoo."

Percy and Jason had been training since a young age, and were no doubt among the fiercest warriors of their age group. Dakota was only mediocre, while Bobby and James were actually quite proficient. Octavian was set in line to inherit the position of augur from his father Randy, and couldn't hold a candle to the twins' prowess when it came to combat. Fortunately for Octavian, he had also inherited his father's silver tongue; Octavian was a moving speaker and always had a formulated, smooth way in delivering his words, appealing to all three portions of rhetoric speaking (Logos, Pathos, Ethos). As much as it pained Percy to admit it, Octavian was extremely competent when it came to public speaking and political activities.

Today, the Junior Legionnaires (those under the age of twelve) would be given a necklace necklace and be dubbed probatios, while the older kids (those that were turning twelve) would be branded with the SPQR tattoo. The Junior Legionnaires could become numerous things: messengers, laborers, equipment boys—anything, really. There was no telling what job they would be given. To be frank, Percy wasn't even sure which option sounded better. They all sounded rather bland and simple when he considered becoming an actual Legionnaire. Adrenaline seemed to dump into Percy's bloodstream at the mere thought of becoming a full member in the Legion—a soldier of Rome. The idea itself made Percy's head tingle and his fingers twitch with excitement. In the near future, Percy's dream would become a reality.

"First," David announced, "the full members of the Legion will be inducted. Say goodbye to last year's probatios, and then say hello to the new members of the great Roman Legion!"

The crowd roared with exhilaration and chanted, "SPQR!"

David smiled a bit, "All right, settle down, settle down. Gwen, if you would."

The daughter of Apollo was standing next to him and Cassie, holding a branding iron. Gwen gave a nod of confirmation and stuck the iron into the lit brazier beside her, until it was a glowing, sizzling-orange color. Legionnaires filed up the stage, where Gwen then pressed the iron into the underside of their right forearm.

At first nothing would occur, but then red ink appeared to seep through the skin of the Legionnaire, slowly developing the ornate Roman tattoo. When it was completed, a various amount of maroon lines, symbolizing how many years they had served as Junior Legionnaires, would extend from the elbow to the wrist. SPQR was written by the ethereal ink—also in crimson—just below the elbow, along with the symbol of the Legionnaire's godly parent.

Some just cringed when the red-hot iron was pressed into their susceptible flesh, while others yelped or grunted in discomfort. Percy silently pledged that he wouldn't appear fragile when it was his turn; he would stand resiliently and unflinching when it was his turn to feel the strident bite of the scorching iron. He hoped Jason was thinking the same thing.

Once the older Legionnaires had finished their initiation and the crowd had cheered them off the stage, David once again stood.

"And now it is time for our probatios—our Junior Legionnaires."

Just like she did with the elder Legionnaires, Cassie read names aloud. The probatio that was called would ascend the stairs and walk upon the stage before stopping just in front of Gwen. Instead of being branded, the probatios were given a small necklace that resembled something akin to a dog tag. A black string held a small clay dog tag that had the word "Probatio" carved into it. Gwen would put it around the neck of each new recruit, before giving him or her a curt nod of acknowledgment.

Cassie announced nine names including Jason and Dakota's before it was Percy's turn. As he stepped forward, something lightly tapped the outside of his foot, but forcefully enough to force his foot to jerk to the side, colliding with his other leg. Much to Percy's dismay, he tripped.

Percy fell flat on his face in front of New Rome's population in its entirety.

Snickers and failed attempts to cover up laughs rang through the crowd, the loudest coming from behind him, where Octavian and his buddies were. When Percy glanced back at them, James winked slyly.

Face flushed rubicund with embarrassment, Percy pushed himself off the ground, trying his hardest to disregard the hypercritical gazes and words being directed towards him. As he ascended to the stage, he caught a sympathetic look from Cassie, before her face hardened again. Jason had averted his eyes away from Percy's direction. The son of Jupiter was so humiliated that he could hear and feel his heartbeat reiterating boisterously in his ears like a steel drum in a Reggae song.

As he faced Gwen, he saw that she had kept stoic, her bright blue eyes not betraying any emotion. In his peripheral vision, Percy could see disapproving looks thrown at him from the crowd. Percy was supposed to be a solider—a _Roman_ soldier. He wasn't supposed to show to trepidation, and was expected to be unruffled and placid. Tripping in front of the Romans was an act of feebleness—not a good first impression.

David cleared his throat awkwardly. "Now we have Percy Grace," Percy flinched slightly at his surname. "Probatio number ten."

Gwen leaned forward and put the necklace around his neck. As she did so, she quietly whispered, "Sorry, kid."

Percy felt the heat rise in his face again. All he wanted to do was descend from the stage, dig a small hole, and bury himself in it for the rest of perpetuity. Percy swallowed vehemently as he exited the stage, pushing through the judgmental crowd, ignoring both Dakota and Jason.

Percy's special day had been ruined.

-X-

**Time Skip: Two Years Later**

_Reyna_

Reyna sat in the pool chair in a purple one-piece bathing suit. Her long, tan legs were stretched out in front of her while her obsidian eyes lazily studied the inside of a magazine that Hylla had given her earlier. Hylla said that Circe had received it from Mercury; the magazine was the written account of Vulcan TV, and it seemed to be talking about what was "hot" in the mythological world. So far, the only thing that had interested her was the article on the twins of Jupiter that were residing at Camp Jupiter. It showed a picture of a very handsome blond boy with almost pristine clothing and a dazzling smile, and a raven-haired boy just slightly behind him, his hands deep in pockets, and a rather disinterested looks on his face.

Both were admittedly attractive, even though Hylla and Circe had practically preached to Reyna that boys were "evil' and "manipulative." Reyna frowned at their appearances however; for twins, the two didn't look much alike. The only real similarity was their eyes—a sapphire blue. But even their eyes were slightly diverse. The blond one—Jason—had a light sapphire, kind of like a serene, afternoon sky. It reminded Reyna of those days that were beautifully cloudless, allowing the sky to show its vastness and eternal splendor. But the raven-haired one—Percy—had a darker set of orbs—like the sky during a storm. They were a dark royal blue, even teetering on the edge of being navy. His eyes seemed to swirl with a turbulent cloud, like they might unleash a rapid and fatal cyclone. It reminded her of a stormy evening.

Other than that, Reyna had no real interest for the magazine.

"Reyna! Get dressed! I can see two visitors! They'll be up here in a minute!"

Reyna sighed in exasperation. She wanted to relax on her day-off (it was Saturday), but duty called.

"All right, Hylla, I'll be there in second," Reyna called to her sister.

Reyna hopped out of her chair and hurried to her quarters, which were conveniently located just next to the pool. Reyna quickly entered and changed out of her bathing suit. She had never actually gotten in the pool, so she didn't need to dry off before throwing on her uniform. In a matter of seconds, Reyna was sporting a lilac blouse and a pair of distressed jeans, along with simple, russet sandals on her tanned feet. Just to be safe, Reyna had an Imperial gold dagger strapped to her thigh. To be faultlessly candid, Reyna was both picturesque _and_ toxic.

It was a rather precarious amalgamation.

Although Reyna was a modest girl, it was hard to conceal her natural beauty. Her body was slim, her onyx hair lush, and her eyes dark and mysterious. The daughter of Bellona was both cursed and blessed by her attractiveness; many of the men and boys that arrived on the island hit on her relentlessly, and none knew how to take a hint. Reyna wasn't too interested in having romantic relations with anyone.

Reyna quickly walked to the greeting room: the first room that one would reach after leaving the docks. When she reached it, she appeared to have been a little late; she saw Circe leading a blond-haired, grey-eyed boy away, while Hylla was walking a black-haired girl towards Reyna.

Hylla and the girl stopped in front of Reyna. Hylla had seemed to have transformed into a strong-willed woman over their time on Circe's island. She was stern and responsible, and followed out every order that she was given by Circe without question. Hylla was independent, and found it difficult to ask for aid in any sense of the word, even if she was asking her own sister. Reyna disliked that trait about her elder sister, but attempted to overlook it on most occasions.

When it came to appearance, Hylla was basically the older version of Reyna, with minor alterations such as Hylla's straight hair opposed to Reyna's lavish curls. Hylla was taller and slender, but was clearly muscled like most children of war gods and goddesses were. Hylla was wearing a pencil skirt and a buttoned shirt with glasses (which she didn't need), and inclusively looked intelligent and sovereign—two words that accurately portrayed Reyna's elder sister. Unbeknownst to everyone but Reyna, Hylla kept a knife strapped to her thigh as well, under her skirt. Hylla was far from being a damsel in distress.

She was hazardous.

The girl next to Hylla had eyes that were, surprisingly, darker than Reyna's. The girl had straight onyx hair that fell to her lower back, but it was damp with seawater. She was shorter than Hylla, around the same height as Reyna. Freckles dotted her nose and just above her prominent cheekbones. She wore a partially tattered, black tee and torn jeans. A Stygian Iron sword hung at her side in a scabbard. She radiated an aura of dread and death, but Reyna wasn't dissuaded from approaching the mystery girl in the slightest.

"This is our guest, Bianca," Hylla said to Reyna as the duo reached her.

"I'm Reyna," Reyna greeted, extending her hand. "I hope you decide to stay."

Bianca frowned as she shook Reyna's hand. "What? Stay?"

Hylla looked at her incredulously. "Yes, or course. This is a haven for all women and girls. This is paradise, Bianca. Now, Reyna please give our guest a tour and make sure you meet me in the styling room afterwards."

Reyna nodded, and Hylla walked off in the direction that Reyna had seen Circe leading the blond-haired boy. Reyna and Bianca toured the island for a while, and Bianca seemed genuinely interested. Her eyes glowed at the thought of staying, and she was actually asking Reyna questions about the island. The juiciest information wasn't divulged until they were on the way to the styling room to reunite with Hylla.

"So how did you get here, Reyna?" Bianca asked nonchalantly as they approached the styling room.

Reyna involuntarily stiffened as clenched her jaw.

"My father . . . died," Reyna forced out, trying to force down abysmal memories of Puerto Rico. The only decent memories she had from there were during the times that her father was at home with them. It wasn't often, but it was good enough for Reyna. While Hylla seemed to have some deep-seeded hatred for their father, Reyna had held no animosity towards him until recently. Now that she was older, Hylla had told Reyna that their father was involved in the drug cartel that was present in San Juan, the city in which they had lived. Reyna wanted to believe that he was involved with those people in order to put food on the table for his daughters, but Reyna never recalled her father coming home with food or money. Hylla was always the one who came home with a couple American dollars and maybe a few pieces of stale food. If their father was making money by selling drugs, he certainly wasn't using it to help his family. And for that, Reyna had begun to hate even the mere memory of her father.

Telling Bianca that he died wasn't an entire lie; he was murdered. This newcomer didn't need to know Reyna's background. The daughter of Bellona actually doubted she would tell anyone about her past, in any sense of the word. Reyna just wasn't a people person.

"Oh," Bianca responded awkwardly. "I'm sorry."

Reyna continued walking quietly for a few minutes. Finally, the daughter of Bellona asked, "So who's the boy you came with?"

At this Bianca's face turned a slight rose color. "H-Huh? Oh, you mean Malcolm. He's a son of Athena."

Reyna found it strange that Bianca used Minerva's Greek name, but she shrugged it off. Bianca was probably too flustered thinking about the boy to even remember his parent's name. It was blatantly obvious that Bianca had some time of romantic attraction towards the son of Minerva.

"Reyna!"

Reyna looked away from Bianca and saw Hylla waiting with the door to the styling room open. The duo hurried to Hylla and followed her inside. Hylla took Bianca by the arm and led her over to a ceiling to floor mirror.

"We have one last reason you should stay, Bianca," Hylla said excitedly.

Bianca tried to make Hylla let go of her. "No, no, I can't stay. I'm on a quest to find the—"

Hylla waved her free hand dismissively cutting Bianca off. "Nonsense. Look in the mirror, Bianca."

Reyna couldn't tell what Bianca saw in the mirror (it was magical and only displayed to the main seer, so neither Reyna nor Hylla could tell what Bianca was seeing), but Bianca's eyes grew wide in astonishment.

"Whatever you saw can become reality here on the island, Bianca," Hylla explained. "I implore you to stay with us."

Bianca continued staring at the mirror for a couple of seconds before closing her eyes and shaking her head furiously.

"I don't think . . . I . . . can I see Malcolm?" Bianca croaked finally.

Reyna shrugged. Circe had led Malcolm into her study—a place that no one had been in besides Circe herself. Hylla, Reyna, and the other workers had been promised unemployment and banishment if they ever entered Circe's study with permission directly from Circe herself. Circe occasionally led visitors into her study, but Reyna had never been in there herself. Reyna often wondered what was in the room.

"We aren't allowed in her study," Hylla said with a hint of bitterness.

Hylla was a hard worker, and was basically in charge of everything on the island. Hylla was like Circe's second in command; no other workers—not even Reyna—could hold a candle to Hylla's organizational skills, and her ability to finish just about any kind of job that Circe ordered her to complete. Reyna could understand why Hylla was acrimonious about not being allowed access into Circe's study. If anyone deserved to enter, it was the elder daughter of Bellona.

While they had been talking, they had somehow walked through the styling room and out into the hallway where the door to Circe's study was located.

"Bianca, we should wait until Circe is done with—" Reyna began.

A masculine shout and a loud explosion-like noise cut Reyna off. Reyna was shoved aside by Bianca, who rammed her shoulder into Circe's study's door so hard that it was knocked off the hinges. She quickly entered, leaving the sisters' vision. Reyna and Hylla sprinted after her, but as the rounded the corner into the room, they were met with an astounding sight.

Bianca was standing in front of a cage filled with guinea pigs protectively. Circe was floating in the air, her black hair levitating in a sprawled position. Her jade eyes radiated a furious glowing light—so bright, that Reyna had to squint. A black aura had surrounded the sorceress, and had such a powerful presence that Reyna had to combat the urge to dive under the nearest table and cry forlornly.

"What did you do to him?" Bianca demanded hotly.

Circe snarled in response. "I turned him into his true form, Ms. Di Angelo. Your friend deserved this."

Reyna was having conflicting thoughts; had Circe killed the boy?

Bianca reached into her pocket and pulled out a small tube filled with something that looked like pills or vitamins. Circe's eyes widened.

"Damn your multivitamins, Mercury! Girls, stop her!" Circe yelled.

Reyna faltered. She had her hand on her knife, but she wasn't quite sure who to stab it into. Bianca hadn't truly done anything wrong, yet Circe seemed to have turned Malcolm into a guinea pig. Reyna only just then realized how many guinea pigs were in the cage. How many men and boys had Circe transformed?

But before she could make a decision, Bianca opened the bottle and dumped all of the vitamins into the cage. Bianca was immediately hit by an energy blast from Circe, but the deed was done.

The guinea pigs slowly grew larger, adapting more human-like attributes. Appendages extended from their furry bodies, while their heads began forming the shape of a regular human.

When they were finished with the transformation, fifteen pirates, Malcolm, a soldier from the Civil War, and a castaway were lying on the floor in a mixed heap, all groaning in pain. Reyna's eyes grew comically wide, absolutely astonished by this revelation.

"Reyna," Hylla whispered while everyone was still in shock, "We need to go. Now."

"But—" Reyna began.

"Where's me sword, Johnson?" Someone yelled from the pile.

"Here, Captain," a voice replied.

A bulky man pushed several people off of him and stood up. The man was ripped and broad-shouldered, and had an eye patch over one eye. A black pirate hat decorated with a single white feather rested on top of his oily mess of raven hair. The man's crimson eyes shone with fury when they landed on Circe.

"Alright, lads," the man said, "let's show this bitch of a sorceress what it feels like to invoke the wrath of Edward Teach and his crew!"

"Aye!" The other soldiers said.

Circe took a step back, looking quite intimidated by the large group of huge men.

"Now, now, I'm sure we can come to a peaceful agreement," Circe said with a shaky smile.

Teach unsheathed a curved scimitar. In a flash, every single person in the room was brandishing a weapon. Reyna stood protectively in front of Circe along with Hylla. Bianca and Malcolm had slowly backed away, and headed closer to the door.

"You want Circe," Hylla said, "you'll have to go through us."

Teach guffawed. "Aye, lass, I can do that. Boys, burn this hellhole to the ground."

Half the pirates sprinted out of the room, letting out a battle cry. The others charged forward, engaging the three defenders. Reyna saw Bianca and Malcolm slip out of the room. As she remembered that this was Bianca's fault, a white-hot rage rose up in her, giving her the strength and agility to duck under a pirate's lunge and drive her knife through his thigh.

He screamed and fell to the ground. She looked to her left in time to see Teach overrunning Circe. Hylla had someway made her way through the scuffle to Reyna.

Circe managed one word before Teach's sword went through her chest.

"RUN!"

Reyna had frozen in horror, watching as her surrogate mother was killed brutally by the power. Sure, Circe was immortal and would reform eventually, but watching someone die was anything but pleasant. Reyna felt tears prick at her eyes, and hardly registered as Hylla grabbed her arm and practically dragged her out of the room. All the noise in the world seemed to have faded, and Reyna could only hear her own heart vibrating in her ears.

She vaguely remembered running through the burning village and past dying workers and servants. She distantly heard Hylla tell her to hurry, and remembered a mop of black hair and a head of blond hijacking a pirate ship. A black-haired girl, known as Bianca di Angelo, had destroyed her perfect life and home in a matter of minutes.

And as Hylla pulled Reyna onto a speedboat and started the engine, Reyna solemnly swore to herself that she would kill Bianca di Angelo one day for her crimes. The daughter of Pluto and son of Minerva would feel the harsh bite of Reyna's weapon, and they would regret having ever come to Circe's island.

For Circe, for the servants, and for the island as a whole, Bianca di Angelo would die.

**A/N: DUN DUN DUNNNNN . . . okay, I apologize for taking so long to update. School is back, so I don't have a lot of time to update. I made this extra long (~5000 words) to make up for the lack of updating, so I hope you like it. Reyna hasn't met the twins yet, but the will next chapter. And I apologize in advance for the Jason/Reyna action coming up. It will be short though, and Percy/Reyna will take over! Thanks for reading! Review!**


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